Feel Alive
by The Mad Hatter Effect
Summary: Things happen and plans can change. The Piece of Eden is a mysterious thing and it shouldn't be trifled with. AltairxOc MalikxOc co-written with XxMarch HarexX
1. Chapter 0

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs that appear.

**Planned Pairings: **Altair/Oc and Malik/Oc

* * *

"You've killed my days – my innermost state of mind, so don't stay close~," Dark brown eyes rolled themselves as the woman began to sing along with her dancing. The woman even had her eyes closed as she sang and danced in her seat, ignoring everything around her, keeping a steady beat with her tapping foot, though no music played in the back of the Abstergo van. A sigh racked the first woman, as she ran a hand through her hair before replacing her beloved cap atop her head. The ride had started out silent, the driver and passenger up front not feeling a need to turn on the radio or for idle chit chat. It wasn't long before the woman who was singing quietly now began to tap her foot, then to bob her head, then to actually start dancing to the beat and music in her head, mouthing the words until she had finally begun to sing them out loud, as if finally having built the confidence to do so.

"No more belief – in chemicals~," The hat-wearer resisted a deep sigh at the other's antics. She just didn't get it. And the singing wasn't helping her thought process.

"You're a horrible singer and you should feel horrible, Seventeen." She finally snapped, glaring warily at the other woman who stopped singing, though she continued to dance in her spot, foot still tapping away to that repetitive beat on the floor of the van.

"Genesis! Not Seventeen, _Gray_." Taunted the woman back, pausing long enough to run a hand through her choppy hair as 'Gray' winced.

"It's Silver, you hyperactive ingrate."

"That's wonderful, Red." Genesis retorts lightly, clearly unbothered by the insult. That bothered Silver, and her lips formed a thin line as she continued to stare at the woman as if willing her to stop with her stare. Genesis had not once stopped her mini-dance, entertaining herself on this long drive to wherever they were heading. Genesis wasn't sure, she was just glad to be out of that stuffy room in Abstergo's walls, being forced to relive another's memories she didn't even want.

"Another day – another life~," Silver sighed in irritation, her own brown eyes flashing as she did so, though she didn't speak up. Instead opting to muse over the last week or so, during which she had been helping Warren Vidic with Subject Seventeen whilst Lucy Stillman helped with Subject Sixteen.

When Genesis had first been brought to Abstergo, kidnapped as per usual, she had been rather irritated and angry, as was usual with all of the Subjects before her and Silver didn't bother paying the woman much attention. She wouldn't be around long, after all; she'd either fulfill her purpose and be disposed of or succumb to the bleeding effect and be lost through that route. And frankly Silver just didn't care about her co-workers and partners enough to pay much attention to them, much less to something she'd witnessed before. But a strange thing began to happen after that first session within the Animus.

Genesis began to grow laid back and carefree, as if she didn't much mind the surroundings or the fact that she was essentially a prisoner of Abstergo. It was as if Genesis was perfectly at ease with just being a means to an end and it confused Silver. She didn't understand it. If she were in Genesis' place she would be filled with anger and confusion, she wouldn't be able to casually point out that the Animus was uncomfortable to lay upon or that Abstergo must be a bunch of perverts to put a camera in the bathroom as well. What was she really going to do in there? Climb through the too-small vent and escape?

Silver snorted again, as she glanced at her pocket watch. 12:28. They still had a good hour to go until they reached their destination. She resisted another sigh, instead tucking the watch back into her pocket and glancing away from the too-carefree Genesis.

As she glanced ahead of them, past the driver and passenger to the road before them Silver felt her lip twitch up in amusement as she remembered exactly why Genesis was on the road with them now.

"_No, seriously," Genesis insisted, tapping the side of the table-like machine that was dubbed the Animus with the toe of her boot. "You should really think about investing cushions or something in this thing."_

_Silver shot her an irritated look. It was the same as always; Genesis would point out some minor annoyance that the other Subjects could've cared less about. She should've been more focused on trying to escape! Or at least worried about her life, Silver reasoned. Instead, when she had checked the surveillance tapes for Subject Seventeen she had found that the woman had actually spent the time to try and figure out the code to her door's locking mechanism._

_The sad part of it was, that Silver actually couldn't believe that Genesis had sat in front of that number pad for the last two nights for as long as she could stay awake for, typing in each and every code, one at a time. Hadn't she realized the sheer amount of possibilities for just the four digit code? Or was she that insane? Silver recalled another Subject attempting the same but giving up soon after starting, this woman had stubbornly continued to punch in numbers until she had found it._

_Silver didn't know whether to be shocked or not._

"_You're the prisoner. You're not supposed to be comfortable, Seventeen." Snorted Silver instead, continuing to type away on her console. She heard a strange "Mmmmm!" sound emit from Genesis and glanced up to see the woman childishly poking her tongue out at her. "How immature."_

"_At least I know how to have fun, ya old fart!" was the grunted reply that Silver received. She shot Genesis a look before she turned and glanced over her shoulder at Vidic who was at his own computer - a laptop, plugged into the wall and ever-charging at the glass table he used as a desk in here. The area was set up similarly to Subject Sixteen's current housing area, actually._

"_Vidic, before I forget, I feel I should tell you that Subject Seventeen here managed to escape her room last night."_

"_Oh? Is that so?" Vidic answered, lifting his head up from the laptop's screen to raise a brow inquiringly at Genesis. "Well, we can't just leave you here if you can manage that, now can we Miss Redgrave?" A wicked smirk was plastered on his face, and Silver had gotten great pleasure out of the slack-jawed expression upon the Subject's face. It was a first, and it wasn't the first time Silver had attempted to get such a speechless expression from her. Vidic had gotten up then, away from his laptop and out the door as Genesis watched him, still speechless._

_However, Silver knew for a fact that Vidic had been planning on dragging this annoying woman along anyways on their way to get the Piece of Eden. There were a lot of places where free-running was a necessity to get through or around which none of the Abstergo members knew how to do… yet._

_Abstergo was going to fix that soon, training their own employees with the Animus at a later date._

_But for now, they would drag the more complacent and easy-going Genesis with them. Subject Sixteen was still showing anger and resentment towards Abstergo and might not be as easy to manipulate, even with his life at stake._

_Genesis turned to Silver than, brows furrowed in confusion. She lifted her hands, palm up to shoulder height in a large shrug and began to shake her head as she asked slowly; "Why?"_

"_Oh, come now, Seventeen. You should have seen this coming." Silver chuckled, a small smirk on her face. She debated on giving the woman a patronizing pat on the head but thought twice about it, opting instead to just leave as Vidic had._

The last hour of travel went by painstakingly slow and Silver couldn't wait to get out and away from this woman. Genesis just couldn't seem to sit still. She always had to be doing something, it seemed. She had soon stopped singing though her dancing stayed strong for several long minutes afterwards before she stopped and soon became fidgety. As of the moment her leg was bouncing up and down, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared out the windshield that they could see from the back of the van. Silver was surprised to see a solemn look upon the brunette woman's face, having grown used to seeing it twisted into one of joy, boredom, or irritation. Never had she believed the woman to possess any ability to twist it into that of a thoughtful one.

The doors to the back of the van were opened suddenly, the van having been stopped for several minutes as the passenger and driver exited it. Genesis hadn't moved and Silver couldn't help but wonder why she was so still now. The thought left as she glanced over to the now opened doors to see Vidic standing there, impatient look upon his face as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Let's get a move on, you two." He snapped, dark eyes scanning over the both of them as Genesis calmly stared him down, clearly unfazed by his bad mood. Silver kind of wished she had that much confidence; she was growing nervous at her boss' mood. "We don't have all day."

"And what, pray tell, am I supposed to do, Mr. Kidnapper?" Genesis calmly inquired, though Silver didn't miss the flash of anger behind the glasses. Silver gulped, glancing between the two as she stood up and hurriedly hopped down to the packed dirt below, not wanting to get in between the glare Vidic was sending the woman. She could practically feel the anger rolling off of her boss in waves.

Why was Genesis being so stubborn now of all times? Silver had to wonder about it. It seemed like an odd time to pick to start becoming so adamant against her kidnappers.

"You're going to get us that Piece of Eden, Miss Redgrave." Vidic answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Silver wondered, not for the first time, just how good a plan this really was. What was stopping Genesis just from taking the Piece for herself in the end, after all? It seemed Genesis shared this thought as well, for her next retort consisted of;

"Aren't you guys supposed to be the geniuses? What makes you think I won't just run off with it in the end?"

"Because Miss Reinherst here is going to be going with you, of course." Vidic answered, gesturing to Silver beside him who gaped up at him. He seemed to have left this tidbit out of the plans when it had been relayed to her!

"Right," Silver felt Genesis eyeing her up and down as if calculating the odds of taking her down. Genesis was light, almost unhealthily so, weighing in at only a hundred and seven pounds but Silver had no doubt that the woman would be able to beat her in a fight if she wanted to. Genesis definitely seemed like the type to have been into fighting and martial arts in her lifetime and Silver most definitely had no experience in such things, even if she was a Templar by blood. On top of that Genesis had been spending long amounts of time in the Animus, no doubt some of the bleeding effect had shone through, even if it didn't show. Silver had no clue as to what she might be capable of now.

It didn't take long to get Genesis out of the van, when there was a rifle pointed at her head. She had glared at the gunman and Silver entertained thoughts of the woman somehow managing to knock the gun from the man's grip and getting away though it never happened. Genesis complied, though reluctantly with what they wanted, being led into a crumbling old building nearby. It looked as if it might have once been some type of a church, though it had long since fallen into disrepair, with half of the roof caved in upon itself and holes in the wall from where there once were windows or were the walls had rotted or been knocked away.

The whole while an Abstergo employee kept the rifle aimed at Genesis, unnecessarily closely, the Subject noted with distaste. Really, it was a long range weapon for a reason, and the woman wouldn't be able to avoid it if the trigger was pulled no matter how fast she could move. Genesis figured it must be a 'power' move, making the Templar feel more at ease with having the barrel pressed so closely to her skull.

The inside of the building was dank and rather moldy. It didn't help that it was an overcast day already. Seemed like the world itself knew what a menace the Templars really were. Genesis almost smirked in amusement at the thought, though she managed not to, instead glancing disdainfully around herself as another employee lifted up the trap door they had found.

"Down here?" Silver inquired, crouching beside the hole and peering into the darkness. The ladder disappeared as it went further down, seemingly swallowed by the shadows.

"Yes. We tried to go through earlier, to see how far we could go. We lost three men. There's too many traps that we can't reach." The man who had lifted the trap door informed with a grave look upon his face. He failed to mention that they had yet to even get past the first trap.

"Did you hear that, Miss Redgrave?" Vidic inquired, seemingly amused. "It looks like you get to help us with our quest to shape the world! Aren't you excited?"

"Ecstatic." Came the bland reply, an equally lackadaisical look upon her face. At some point during the walk to and into the building she had shoved her hands into her white jacket's pockets nonchalantly.

"Vidic, how am I supposed to keep this woman under control?" Silver inquired lowly, sparing Genesis a glance. She didn't seem to be listening, instead gazing around at the surroundings as if mildly interested in them. "She's an Assassin by blood! And I'm sure the bleeding effect made sure of that!"

"You didn't think we'd let you go in unarmed did you?" Vidic inquired, though she caught the mocking tone in his voice. She bit back a retort. She was a Templar, yes, though it was a little reluctantly. Yes, she believed humans were scum on the inside, no matter how good their actions were. She also believed the world could use a little… thinning of the herd, so to speak. But that didn't mean she had ever wanted to follow in her grandfather's footsteps from so long ago.

However, she did and was and there was no arguing about it, even if she didn't really like her boss.

She was handed a small handgun, of what make or model Silver didn't know. She had never had to be well-versed in weapons before now, having lived a fairly good life with her parents and little siblings. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she was then handed several glow sticks for down in the dark passageway. She noted Genesis held a few in her hands loosely, staring down into the hole as if without a care, as usual. She looked so at ease and unworried that Silver was jealous; she couldn't stop worrying.

What if she tripped and broke her leg? What if she lost the gun? What if the gun misfired? What if… She shook her head as she received instructions on getting the Piece of Eden and to come back with it immediately once it was found.

"Right," Silver nodded before turning and brandishing the gun Genesis unsurely. She wasn't even sure if the safety was on or off. She hadn't looked yet.

Meanwhile, Genesis turned her head to gaze at Silver blankly, biting back a smirk. The Templar looked so uneasy with the gun in hand, it was clear she hadn't used one before. "You lead the way. Now c'mon! We don't have all day!"

Genesis did smirk at this, and she was joyous over the fact that rage seemed to flash behind Silver's eyes at it. Genesis took her time, cracking the glow stick and securing it to the belt loop on her jeans before she swung down onto the ladder. She stopped a few rungs from the opening in the floor causing Silver to furrow her brow and open her mouth to give out another frustrated retort. It was lost before it even left her lips, however, as Genesis let go of the ladder and simply allowed herself to drop to the ground below. A thud sounded out and Silver blinked down to see the bottom where Genesis straightened from the crouch, shaking her legs one at a time before glancing up at her expectantly.

This was going to be a long day. Silver just knew it.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

* * *

By the time Silver had her first glow stick cracked, lit and around her neck she noticed that Genesis was already moving away from the ladder, no longer waiting for her. Silver gritted her teeth, ignoring her apprehension and hurrying down the ladder, though she did not drop down as she had witnessed the other do. She turned, seeing the woman staring at her as if silently willing Silver to hurry up and she gritted her teeth. Was this woman really this arrogant? Was that why she always seemed so carefree and at ease, even in compromising situations? Because she believed she could get through it all unscathed and on her own terms? Silver had to wonder.

It was definitely colder down in the tunnel than up in the building and Silver was glad she had her favorite hoodie on. She kept her gaze on the ground as she walked, eager not to trip over anything as she feared would happen. She glanced up however; she had to make sure that Genesis wasn't leaving her behind for dead.

In the yellow glow she witnessed the woman trudging head, head lifted up as she gazed ahead of her, never once looking down or behind her to make sure Silver was still following. She even still had her own jacket opened, showing off the deep red belly shirt she had been kidnapped in. Seeing that made Silver wonder if the woman could feel the cold or if she was just hiding it or ignoring the chill altogether.

The silence didn't bother Silver too much, though she was warily listening for any small sound over the hollow echoing of their footsteps as they walked. The gun was still loosely clutched within her hand.

It wasn't long after that Genesis soon stopped and Silver was forced to stop as well, eyeing her warily. Genesis paid the woman no attention, instead surveying the sight around her. "This could prove problematic." She murmured to herself, not expecting an answer.

"And why is that?" Silver snapped glancing around the Assassin descendant and feeling a lump arise in her throat. Before them the path stopped in a sheer vertical drop, below them was murky water with no way back up if one fell into it. There she spotted the three Templar bodies that she had heard had been lost before. "Well, get going! Find a way over!" she demanded nervously, aiming the gun at Genesis as she turned and blinked at her.

"Charming, aren't we?" Never the less Genesis turned, hands on her hips as she surveyed her surroundings. She removed a second glow stick from her pants pocket and cracked it before holding it up high to spread its light. Above it seemed like there was some sort of a beam that she could stand upon, though it didn't look too trustworthy. She frowned, her eyes roving for a way up. She wouldn't be able to jump high enough to reach on her own…

She had relived her ancestor's memories, not a direct ancestor but her direct ancestor's brother, the one who had become an assassin. Genesis was sure if it wasn't for this 'bleeding effect' that everyone talked about she wouldn't have spotted it, at least not right away, never having been trained to do so before in her life. Along the wall, going straight up, though not in a decidedly straight path, were notches into the wall, big enough to fit a hand or foot… She eyed them, following its path up where it reached the beam she had previously been eying.

Silver watched as Genesis bit down onto the glow stick in her hand, moving to the wall and placing a hand high up into a large rounded notch in the wall. Silver's eyes narrowed as she watched her reach for a lower one and then placed her foot within one that was just a bit higher than the floor. She continued this process, climbing up with the use of these notches, without a second thought and ignoring the pieces of the wall that crumbled under her as she moved. Silver had to wonder if the woman was suicidal, insane, reckless, or did she just not realize the dangers?

Maybe it was a mix of all of those options, she decided as Genesis reached the top. She [Genesis] stopped, leaning back slightly, feeling her hands slip a little as she did so, eyes focusing on the beam. It looked sturdy enough, but you could never be too sure, she should go about it carefully, cautiously…

On the other hand the glow stick in her mouth was casting an irritating yellow glow upon the lenses of her glasses and it was driving her nuts.

She leaned in closer to the wall, drawing her feet up flat into the wall beside the notches, near her hands before pushing off suddenly, twisting around in the air just in time to catch the beam across her upper stomach. She grunted, teeth clamping down on the glow stick still in held in her mouth as she grabbed the slippery wood, mold growing upon it. She heard the wood creak beneath her in protest as she maneuvered on it, balancing precariously upon it as she glanced around her. If she fell now she'd land within the water with no visible way back up.

She could feel Silver's eyes on her. Genesis ignored it, instead pulling the glow stick out of her mouth and holding it up again. Nothing above her, it seemed she was high as she could get here. The glow sticks showed several more beams and she looked down again. There seemed to be some sort of a metal clasp of sorts smashed into the wall, facing the water on the side where the notches were. Was something supposed to clip onto it?

She couldn't see how far she had to go, and she'd like to get going before the wood beneath her boots decided it had enough of her weight. Genesis reeled her arm back and threw the glow stick in hand, watching as it flew and noting what was around it before it plunked into the water below. It looked like if she headed straight she'd reach the other side in a matter of only a few beams. From there she could figure out what to do.

Silver watched, biting her lip, as Genesis hopped carefully from beam to beam. Each time she was caught in the chest by each one, not getting enough air time to land on them on her feet as her ancestor had been privy to. Then again, Silver figured she probably didn't want to risk losing balance on the boards and falling in.

At the fifth beam Silver's heart thudded rapidly as Genesis merely jumped to the ground, the thud of her boots hitting stone echoing around. The Abstergo employee found it amusing to see the woman's legs give out from under her and cause her to fall on her butt from the impact. Silver watched as the woman slowly stood back up eyeing what was around her before grasping something in her hand and looking back at her.

She better not think of running, Silver still had the gun, after all. Instead;

"I'm gonna toss this to you. There's a clasp, Blue, where you have to tie it to. I'm sure you can find it."

Silver ignored the 'Blue' remark though she narrowed her eyes. Did the Assassin really expect her to be able to see the thing in her hand as it was tossed away from the glow stick's dull light to catch it? It wasn't too long a distance, however, and it was possible that whatever it was could be thrown. Before she could open her mouth and voice the problem with this plan it seemed Genesis already had it covered, tying the third and last of her glow sticks to the end of what looked like a rope, tied around a large rock.

It took several tries, each time the rock would plunk into the murky waters loudly and Genesis would have to reel it back in before trying again. When she did get it, Silver had to struggle to untie the (now slimy) rock before she could tie it to the metal clasp that Genesis had spoken of. She then sighed. She'd have to shamble across awkwardly. She shoved the gun into her jeans pocket awkwardly, worrying about the other woman getting the idea of shoving her in the water if she didn't have it. But she couldn't get across holding it either.

Silver grasped the taut rope before pulling herself onto it, wrapping her legs around it and slowly sliding her body across, upside down, reminiscent to that of a sloth. Of course she hurried up when Genesis pointed out that they didn't know how old the rope was or how long it would hold, even if it was thick. Once on the other side she took a breather, her heart rate slowing back down to normal.

She had been worried about falling in and not being able to get up.

When Silver looked up she saw Genesis and her little ball of light heading away further into the tunnel and she scrambled to catch up, irritation flaring up in her chest at this arrogant woman. "Hey!" she called as she caught back up, glare in place and ignoring the harsh echo. "What's wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Genesis answered back, not slowing down. She did genuinely sound confused, however.

"You just hopped across that mote of water like it was nothing! I crawled across it and was scared to death! You don't act scared when kidnapped! You don't even get angry about it! Don't you worry about anything?" Silver shouted, hand once again around the gun, finger on the trigger and she had to resist clenching her fist around it and setting it off accidentally in her anger.

Genesis never stopped walking, and Silver was dismayed to hear that light, carefree tone in her voice again. "Why should I worry about those things? If it happens it happens. I'll deal with it then."

"That's… so… arrogant!" Silver finally choked out, after gaping for several seconds at Genesis' back. A light shrug greeted her shout and she all but huffed as they continued their trek to the Piece of Eden, the path having started sloping downwards after that first trap. Along the way there were a couple of pit fall traps, to which were easily traversed across once sprung, though deadly none-the-less. Genesis often barely managed to catch the ledge of the pitfall and pull herself up each time.

"If there's a giant boulder chasing after us, I'm _through_!" she snarled after the third one, a genuine look of rage on her face that unnerved Silver. "I am _not_ Indiana Jones!"

Luckily for them there was no giant boulder closing in after them, the sounds of their footsteps and the jangling of Silver's necklace the only sounds around them in the tunnel. The end opened up into a large circular room, crumbling in places and one half seemed to have a giant pile of dirt, as if part of the wall had caved in long ago. In the middle sat a dirty and equally crumbling pedestal. Atop it sat a glowing round orb, spreading its own light about the room.

"What the hell? That was so easy! Any acrobatic thief could've found this thing!" scoffed Genesis, a hand planted firmly on her hip as she gestured to the Piece of Eden. "I was hoping for a challenge!"

"Didn't you nearly die in a few pit falls back there?" Silver grunted, unamused. The day had been a long one and her nerves were fried. Her mind was still overrun with several possibilities over what could go wrong even though they had found the Piece of Eden.

"Minor details." Silver's eyes narrowed as Genesis waved this off nonchalantly, clearly not bothered. She grunted instead, moving towards the pedestal to retrieve the treasure that Abstergo wanted and needed. Genesis shifted, nervously, though Silver didn't catch it. It seemed too easy, but she wasn't about to point this out to Silver. In fact, Silver was moving cautiously enough that she figured the other woman had thought this as well.

Genesis' brow furrowed as she felt her back prickle with a strange feeling, as if she were being watched. She moved to turn, hurriedly, she had no weapon her after all and if someone did somehow sneak behind her she wanted to know who or what it was. She saw the figure and had begun to shift into a fighting stance before she realized what it was. And that was of course before a painful stinging issued over her face as something smashed into her and sent her tumbling to the ground with a thud and a grunt.

Her glasses tumbled to the ground with a clatter and she vaguely hoped that they had not been broken as she blinked up at the now blurry ceiling. A shout from Silver and a curse issued out as Genesis rolled onto her side, scooping up her glasses and shoving them onto her face again to blink at what was happening. She spotted Silver ducking under the swung primitive club. The man (he was too bulky to be a female) was dressed in a long hooded cloak disguising his features from the women.

Genesis did the first thing she thought of.

She grabbed the Piece of Eden from the pedestal and threw it at the attacker.

He grunted as it bounced off his back and he turned his shadowed face to her. Behind him Silver was fumbling with the safety on the firearm in her hand. Silver would be the first to admit, she was a coward. When the fight or flight option came she almost always chose flight on instinct. Thus she was immensely glad when the assailant seemed to focus on Genesis. This didn't last long however as he instead turned back around and swung the club at her head. Silver had just enough time to issue a gasp of shock before she was sent tumbling to the ground with a splitting headache and a trickle of blood running down the side of her face from somewhere under her hat.

She blinked, dazed, watching as the shapes redefined themselves as she remained still. She saw Genesis jump on the man's club, hugging it to her chest and digging the soles of her boots into the ground to stop from being hit by it herself. Silver vaguely wondered what good that would do, the man could still strike her.

And strike her he did, upside the temple and causing her to reel to the side. Silver had to hand it to the woman, she didn't let go of the club. The two continued to struggle, the man trying to get the shorter woman off of his weapon and Genesis attempting to rip the club away from him. She kicked out, hitting the Piece of Eden and sending it bouncing off the wall and around the room again. Silver's eyes followed its path in her daze.

She vaguely noticed that Genesis was sent toppling to the ground with a retaliating kick from the man. Genesis grunted, turning to look for the Piece of Eden, frantically, taking her eyes off of the enemy. She'd berate herself for it mentally later, but for now she had to find it…

As if in unison the two women lunged for the glowing orb, pushing up onto their feet and diving for it. The man let out an infuriating roar as the two latched onto it and the glowing suddenly intensified, blinding the two with a white light.

Silver winced, eyes clenched tightly against the white light, her head throbbing and her hand seemingly glued to the Piece of Eden. What was happening? She didn't know. She didn't think she wanted to know.

'_YOUR PAIN IS TEMPORARY,' _the voice resounded in her head, not heard by the ears by there none the less. She peeked her eyes open, spotting nothing within the white and she had to wonder what she had heard, instead she winced and closed them again.

Genesis grunted in irritation, her free arm slung over her eyes, ignoring how it pressed the glasses down further into her face. She wanted darkness. This light hurt to look at. _'SLEEP.'_

* * *

The hooded man stopped, gritting his teeth and lowering his club. The two trespassers were gone, the Piece of Eden missing as well. What had happened he wasn't sure but he had failed to protect the treasure, and for that anger coursed through his veins. He flinched slightly as a hand patted his shoulder and he looked down at the smaller hooded person who had appeared. She smiled at him and spoke, the language rough and unknown to outsiders;

"_Do not worry. Everything happens for a reason. This was meant to happen. You'll see."_

It didn't calm him down.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

* * *

Genesis glared around her, sleepily, her jacket slipping down her arm and exposing her shoulder to the intense sun shining high in the sky. She blinked, not sure what to do at the moment. She was still exhausted and wanted to lay back down on the dusty ground and sleep. But as she looked down the alleyway she spotted many people, all tanned and dressed in olden clothes that she recognized as Middle Eastern wear from an old fashion class elective she had taken in high school.

Beside her crouched Silver, who was warily watching the crowds pass by the alleyway's opening. She had woken up to the noise, being a light sleeper. She didn't know where they were or what had happened, but it was obvious they weren't where they had originally been when they had grabbed the Piece of Eden. Confused, worried, and apprehensive, she woke the only person she knew.

"Do you still have that gun?" she finally asked, exhaustion still lined her voice and she turned to look at Silver. Silver's eyes widened a fraction as she shook her head in worry. She had dropped it when she hit the ground from being clubbed across the head. Which was another thing, there had been dried blood across her face (which she had hurriedly wiped off) though the wound was mysteriously gone.

She suspected it was due to the Piece of Eden, but she had no proof and the mystical treasure was gone upon her awakening in this strange place.

"Useless." Genesis scoffed as she quickly hopped up onto her feet, stretching her stiff legs as she did so. She felt great, despite still wanting sleep. Sleeping upon the ground had never bothered her, like most people complained about. She often found it rather comfortable, in fact.

Silver's gaze narrowed into that of a glare. She wasn't useless, she just wasn't prepared. She wasn't in her element and she didn't appreciate this woman's attitude. "What do you expect? Do I look like some miracle worker? It was simply a series of misfortunate events and I can't change that. But for the love of all that is holy, don't call me useless. I don't see you getting us out of this situation any better."

Genesis gave another of those bland looks to Silver, to which she felt more frustration over. She couldn't tell if it was a look of boredom, disinterest or if she was unimpressed. Either way, it irked her.

"Okay," Genesis nods, surprisingly calm at Silver's accusation. "Follow me, princess."

Silver scowled at the 'princess' bit, though she still followed as Genesis heedlessly led the way out of the alley, taking off and tying her jacket about her hips as she led the way out onto the seemingly busy street. Silver wasn't so sure that was a good idea as she gazed around the crowds under the shadow the brim of her hat supplied her. All of the women were rather well covered, some more than the men even. It didn't seem as if Genesis cared much for this as she barged right up to group of three men speaking on the other side of the 'road.'

Silver also noted that there were no cars, no telephone lines, nothing any modern day city had. And really, she didn't see why they wouldn't have it or did they somehow land in a third world country?

"Excuse me, sir." Silver rolled her eyes. Oh, sure. Now you play innocent. she mentally scoffed though she began to pay attention, still eyeing the streets and buildings around her, mind working to figure out what happened.

The trio gave strange, shocked stares to the bespectacled woman who raised a brow, though she planted her hands on her hips confidently anyways. Their stares traveled down to her exposed midriff and they seemed to grow more shocked and appalled. She didn't let it faze her; "Would you mind telling me what this place is called?"

"J-Jerusalem," the portly man gulped, stammering over the answer as his eyes were wide. She shot him a confused look and even Silver's brow furrowed a little. They hadn't looked over Genesis' shoulder at her, yet.

"Jerusalem, huh?" she inquired, gazing around in thought. She began to strain her ears, listening to the crowds around her. She heard nothing but English, however. Why was no one speaking in any of the languages native to this part of the world? It seemed Silver noticed, too.

"Why am I hearing only English?" she mused under her breath, glancing around her in confusion. "The Piece of Eden, maybe?"

"Dunno. Might be," Genesis nodded, turning away from the trio who had answered her question and not noticing how they shrank away slightly. As if they were afraid of her. This didn't go unnoticed by Silver, though she said nothing of it for the moment. "Isn't Jerusalem supposed to be busy, like cars and shit?"

Silver stopped and thought about that. It would make sense; it was supposed to be a popular place, full of religious history and importance, after all. Why wouldn't it be wired up with the latest technologies? She swallowed the lump in her throat as her mind supplied the worst possible scenario; "What if the Piece of Eden threw us into the past?"

She ignored the skeptical look on Genesis' face. "What? The Piece has been known to do stranger things, child." She spoke in irritation though she spoke quietly enough that the men would not understand her, or at least not clearly enough to figure out what they were speaking of.

"Fine." And Genesis turned back around, clearly not minding doing all the talking with the locales. "What year is it?"

"1191." Spoke the boldest of the three, merely sneering at the woman as if expecting her to back down. She didn't. She stared at the man, sure of the smug smile on Silver's face before she even turned around.

"Okay, so you were right." Another shrug. "So what?"

Silver's jaw nearly dropped at the lackadaisical response from the woman. Even being thrown back into the past didn't faze her! What would? She was spared from having to come up with a response as the boldest man spoke again.

"What do you want of our city, demon?"

"Demon?" Genesis inquired, confusion passing over her face before amused understanding took its place a moment later. "Oh, that's right! We're in the time of sexism and religious bigo-!"

She didn't get to finish as Silver snatched up a handhold of the short shirt and dragged her away. Silver would never admit how frightened she was at the moment, at least not in front of this arrogant woman, no way in Hell. She continued to drag the now irritated Genesis for a bit longer before releasing her shirt and allowing her to walk by Silver's side on her own. They walked in silence as Silver eyed the crowd warily. "Would you put your jacket on?" she finally snapped as she finally realized why they were getting stared at.

"Why?"

Silver gritted her teeth. Did she really not know? She glanced over at her current 'partner' and sure enough a barely concealed smirk was in place. Really, if it weren't for the fact that Silver had a hard time with people she didn't know she'd leave in a second. But she didn't know how to handle herself, and for the moment Genesis was the only one who she knew. "People are staring, child."

"Let them stare." She answered easily, scratching at the tattoo upon her arm.

Silver pinched the bridge of her nose briefly. This would only end up badly. First they needed to be prepared, but she had no idea how to go about that. She had no idea what one needed to adequately survive. Would they need a weapon? What of bandits? Or rapists? What was she gonna do about food and a job? She was sure many women didn't have a job in this time, the men being the 'bread winners.'

Silver spared a glance at Genesis before performing a double take, her mouth dropping slightly. She was currently munching on an apple contently, and now that Silver listened she could hear someone shouting about thieves far behind them. "What are you doing?"

"Eating. I'm hungry. The food you guys had at Abstergo sucked rotten monkey balls." She took another bite of her food and Silver found herself appalled at the insult the woman had managed to say out loud. Really, on top of being arrogant, she didn't seem to have any manners at all, either!

"I'm ditching you first bodyguard I find."

"Good luck with that, kid."

What a strange woman, indeed. She began to hum as she finished off her apple, much to Silver's annoyance. She needed to think! Silver vaguely noticed the apple core was dropped on the street without a care and Genesis began to sing again.

"Dink up baby, down~. Are you in or are you out~," Silver rolled her eyes again though didn't say anything. It wouldn't do any good. "Leave your things behind~. 'Cause it's all going off without you~," She bumped into someone, her shoulder stinging for a second from the contact with heavy leather armor before she continued going, ignoring it.

"Hey!"

"Excuse me, too busy writing your own tragedy~."

"I think he's talking to you, child." snorted Silver, glancing at her current partner in disdain.

"I'm aware."

Behind them the guards warily noted the clothes of choice from the woman who had bumped into their captain. The two were dressed strangely enough, definitely foreign, however one was going against the rules for women's dress code! Her midriff was exposed and in sight for everyone without a care. She even seemed to be meeting everyone's gaze who passed her by.

"Heretic! I'll teach you!"

The sound of metal singing in the air as swords were unsheathed caused Genesis to falter a step and Silver noticed it. Footsteps and startled shouts as civilians around them realized what was happening sounded out and Silver had just enough time to blink before Genesis had taken off running into the midst of the crowd, dodging around everyone. Silver hurriedly followed, not wanting to be caught up by the guards, who she had noted when she glanced back at them, were eyeing her as well. No doubt they had something nasty planned.

"Hey!" Silver called out as she ran, trying to keep up.

Genesis grinned as adrenaline pumped through her veins, running through the crowds. She barely registered Silver's shout to wait up behind her, but she couldn't care less. As far as she knew Silver wanted her dead, or so she gathered from the irritated glares she received on a regular basis. Besides, it seemed the guards were more preoccupied with Genesis than Silver.

Pots shattered around her as they toppled to the ground as the women carrying them jumped away from the running woman, water splashing over the streets. She kept low as she ran, being fairly average in height, and wasn't above shoving a few people to the side as well. A chuckle rose its way out of her throat and soon she was laughing as she ran, sliding to a stop only to pick up speed as she turned around the corner into another throng of people. She figured if she stayed in crowds she wouldn't get caught easily, the guards shouting after her. The startled shouts made her come to the conclusion that they were merely shoving people out of the way, which took longer than merely dodging around them.

Staying in the crowds also meant that she wouldn't take a wrong turn down a dead end alley, where she would be cornered easily. A cart to the side of the road caught Genesis' eye and she wasted no time in hopping inside, covering herself with the straw and hunkering down in the bottom, focusing on steadying her breathing once again.

* * *

Silver gasped, her back pressed against the dark alleyway's wall. She had managed to duck into them as the guards caught up having crouched down and hidden under the crowd to do so. They had passed by, only one of them noting that the one 'dressed in black' had seemingly disappeared and that she must be a witch of some sort. Silver grunted; just what she needed, a bad reputation to make things harder on her.

She blamed Genesis.

"I can go now?" a voice questioned lowly, unsurely. Straining her ears she tiptoed down the alley to where she had heard the voice.

"Let you go?" this voice sounded amused if nothing else. She peered around the corner when she reached it. Standing down the next alleyway was another pair of men. One was large and rather muscular, dressed in robes of bright white and leather armor. He was obviously a dangerous man, if the amount of weaponry on him was an indicator. The second man was a nervous fellow, his longer hair pulled back and held away from his face with a strip of leather. "So you can tell my target I am here?"

"No! I won't-" The nervous one didn't get a chance to finish as the white-robed male lunged, seemingly slamming his left hand into the man's gut. Silver's eyes widened and she slapped a hand over mouth, hiding back around the corner again. She knew better, the man was an Assassin, and he had used the crafty hidden blade that was popular around these times and for a few centuries more. Great, just what had she gotten herself into this time?

It seemed the she didn't have much prep time, as the Assassin was quick to find Silver, having heard the intake of air.

* * *

His gaze narrowed from under the shadows of his pristine white hood, as clean as ever on his mission to get information about his target. He had been free running over the roofs when he had heard the commotion – and not the usual, with a woman or old man crying out for help against corrupt guards. No, he had witnessed one of the guards dragging a strangely dressed woman out from a nearby haystack by her hair, the woman kicking and punching the entire time.

"We'll teach you your manners, demon!"

"Demons don't have manners, ya bastard-child!" she shouted back, just as stubbornly, kicking out into the man's crotch and catching herself as he dropped her, now more preoccupied with his manly parts. She hopped away easily, the crowd around them having backed away and watching, as if this were merely some bizarre play of sorts. The guard who was nursing his sore was not happy about being called 'bastard.'

"Kill her! NOW!"

Malik sighed as the woman looked unsurely around her, the confidence she had now gone as she realized she still had no weapon to defend herself with while the four guards that were advancing on her all had swords in their hands. And they certainly didn't seem above using them against a helpless woman. Malik grunted to himself, reaching to his shoulder for a throwing knife.

He had never been one to believe in witches or demons, himself. He was here to dispel the illusions that the corrupted officials placed over the people's eyes after all. If he had allowed himself to believe that illusion he would have failed as an Assassin from the beginning. The woman may not be innocent, but the guards were known to overreact. And if she decided to try to kill him in the end, he was sure he was more than skilled enough to take down the woman.

The knife was flung through the air easily, years of practice behind the aim and technique. It was only seconds before the guard it imbedded itself in was chocking and sputtering on his way to the ground, blood dripping into the dirt. The three remaining guards jumped in shock and away from the corpse as the captain staggered to his feet, sword in hand.

He reached for another knife; he would rather finish them off before they began climbing to his position. He halted however as sudden movement in the area of the guards caught his eye. The woman was moving, having dove for the still warm corpse. She rolled to a stop in front of it, crouching in the blood pool and taking the forgotten sword into her own hand before hopping back up and away from the middle of the three guards who snapped back to attention, having noticed the movement as well.

"What sorcery is this?" one yelled, gesturing to the dead body. Good, they hadn't noticed him up on the roofs then.

She didn't answer instead lunging suddenly, sword clutched in both hands and began to swing it wildly. It was obvious there was no skill or technique behind her movements. She may never have even used a sword in her life in battle and it clearly showed. Knife in hand, Malik moved to aim for the captain, taking him out with another flick of the wrist. He was the farthest from the berserker girl, and he'd rather not injure someone who could possibly be innocent.

Though at the sight of her wildly swinging movements he wasn't so sure anymore.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

* * *

"Who are you?" It was more of a demand than a question, even she could tell in her frightened state. Silver ignored the want to swallow the lump in her throat. Again. It seemed like a new common occurrence since the day had begun. While Genesis seemed perfectly able to roll along with anything that life threw at her, Silver could not. She could hide it, but really she was already beginning to feel the effects.

She missed her family; she may have been a Templar but she did love them and she wondered if they knew she was gone yet. Or did no time pass at all yet for them? She didn't care, she was too worried to care. She didn't have many friends but the ones she did have she loved deeply. Would she be able to get home to see them again? She was losing hope quickly and all she wanted to do was cry.

But of course she refused to allow herself that luxury when in front of this intimidating man. He even had his right hand fisted into her too-baggy jacket to keep her from running off while he interrogated her.

"Silver." She didn't want to lie to this man, she was a terrible liar and she didn't wish to end up skewered with that hidden blade she knew was strapped to the left wrist. She had viewed the tapes of memories of Assassins to recognize it on sight by now.

The man nodded, and she could feel herself shaking. He didn't seem like the friendly type, even when he wasn't threatening someone. Silver took a steady breath to try and keep herself calm. It didn't help. She was still too tired, too worried, too scared and a combination of everything else she could think of to remain adequately calm.

"What did you see and hear?" he grunted again, clearly not a happy man. What was she supposed to say? I saw you kill a man and you are apparently after another! Silver figured that wouldn't go down well. Silver instead locked her eyes where she figured his would be, hidden under that hood.

She'd have to risk lying...

"N-Nothing. I-I-I tripped! Tha-at's all!" Silver mentally winced as she stammered over the words. She really did need to find a way to improve lying, even if she hated the 'art' with a passion. It wasn't her forte and she despised being lied to herself. She only reserved this act for desperate situations.

Silver believed this counted as desperate.

The man's eyes narrowed underneath his hood. Did she really believe him to be some simpleton to believe a weak lie such as that? Not to mention her body language screamed 'lie.' "Do not test me, woman."

In any other situation Silver would've given him an earful for the 'woman' tidbit. In any other situation she was not at blade point, however. Instead of answering she narrowed her own eyes back under the strange black hat adorning her head and clenched her jaw shut. She clearly was done talking to him. He would have killed her then and there if not for the tenant 'Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent' echoed in his head. He growled lowly and he watched the woman flinch at this.

He couldn't very well kill her without knowing, not without getting punished by his master later for it if word came back around. And with Malik in Jerusalem on his own mission he had no doubt that it would if that happened.

He closed his eyes instead, focusing and in just a split second the familiar sensation caused him to blink them back open to reveal just what allegiance this woman was under. True, most women were subservient but he had seen a fair few that had become thieves in his day, and you could never be too sure...

The area around them had grown dark to his eyes, to the point where it was hard to make out inanimate objects in shadowed places and at night. Before him the woman glowed a solid color, radiating just enough light around her to make her easily noticeable if she had been within a crowd, with the 'grays' who had nothing for or against the man using this talent.

He blinked, Eagle Vision still within full effect as he felt his jaw drop a little in shock. He blinked away the strange vision that blood-born Assassins seemed to inherit.

Since when is there ever purple? he wondered to himself but he would not allow this woman in strange clothes who was unafraid to stare him down know this thought. He would have to bring her to his master in Masyaf to sort this out. He would know what to make of this... He missed the worried look upon Silver's face as he studied her with Eagle Vision and ignored her questions as he dragged her to the Assassin's Bureau.

* * *

Eagle Vision. It was a strange thing, and one that allowed him to accurately find the woman after she had run off into the nearby crowd of people and away from him after he had finished off the other two guards (she managed to get in a lucky slash with her wild swinging and took one down) and jumped down from the roofs. He had been intending to merely ask her a few questions and figure things out, but it seems now he'd have to go about this the difficult way.

He blinked, brow furrowing in thought and confusion as he caught sight of the running woman in the sea of gray, the surroundings around him growing dark.

Malik was sure he had never met this woman before in his life and yet she was glowing blue. The only reason this could possibly be was if she was an Assassin as well, but there were no women within the Brotherhood.

Regardless he still followed after her, now more intent than ever to catch the woman, and he had no doubts that this would happen. It was only a matter of time. He noted in dry amusement that this was even easier for him as she still carried the bloodied sword in her hand, as if afraid of being unarmed once again for even a second. This of course caused everyone who saw her coming to jump out of her way and create a path of least resistance for him to follow.

He just needed to get her cornered...

It was easy catching up to the woman, striding beside her and he had a fleeting moment of amusement as she spared a double take at him, confusion and shock written upon her expression as she attempted to pound her feet harder into the ground and out run him still. This ended up in utter failure as Malik managed to keep pace with her easily as he dispelled the Eagle Vision, blinking back a wince as the brightness of the world returned full force.

He managed to catch sight of an alleyway entrance up ahead, on the woman's side. She was glaring at him from the corners of her eye, he was aware and he calculated how well this idea was going to pan out. The area before it was clear and as they came towards the alley he shoved his shoulder into hers, knocking her smaller and lighter frame into the direction it. Her mouth opened in a wordless shout and her eyes widened behind the strange contraption perched atop her nose as she stumbled to catch her balance again.

He didn't allow her that luxury, smacking the sword from her grip and wrapping an arm around her torso, pinning her arm to her side and dragging her into the alley with his free hand clasped over her mouth. Malik hurried down that alley and into the next, pressing his back up against the building wall around the corner and listening intently. The woman struggled, though she didn't kick and for that Malik was grateful. She did attempt to pry his hand from her mouth with her own, failing at it.

For several minutes he listened intently though no one followed and the civilians that had questioned what had happened soon dispersed much to Malik's relief. Many of them often inquired about strange events but did nothing about them, worried more for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones to try anything. He glanced down at the woman, who surprisingly hadn't made a sound, despite struggling.

"If I let go of your mouth you are not to scream." he warned lowly, ducking his head so as not to have to speak so loudly. You never knew just who was prowling around the back ways after all. She didn't respond verbally, instead tapping his hand with hers twice in rapid succession. She had entertained thoughts of biting him, but she had witnessed his precision with throwing knives and didn't much wish to end up finding out where else his weaponry knowledge extended to.

"What the hell?" she grunted, lowering her voice to roughly the same level as his as she glared up. It wasn't like she could turn around and do so, he still had an iron grip around her torso to make sure she didn't run off.

It was rather uncomfortable.

"Why did you run?" Malik questioned, ignoring her own inquiry in favor of understanding. He still had his own target to get to on top of trying to understand why this woman was glowing blue upon his Eagle Vision!

Genesis mulled over her answer as she gave a look that combined bored and irritated into one. He was a handsome man, that was for sure. Stubble and dark shaggy hair could visibly be seen at this distance from under the hood. "Why did you chase me?" she shot back instead, blinking up at him. It was just the only question she could think to fire back at him. Malik was not amused, his eyes narrowing down at the woman.

"Answer the question." he demanded, an intimidating tone mixing in with his voice this time around. Clearly he was not the patient type. Usually, neither was she, however. She twitched her nose, feeling the drying blood splatter upon her cheek.

"It's not everyday an Assassin comes along, you know. You'd probably avoid him as well, if you weren't one." the lie was natural, though she didn't know why she lied about it. In all honesty, Genesis wasn't sure why she had run, it just seemed natural after all that had happened during that day.

Malik studied her face for any trace of a tell. She kept a steady gaze and he couldn't feel her moving or shaking. The only difference was the rhythmic and steady breathing. It was different than a normal person's breathing pattern; slowed, calmer. She was forcing it to slow down but she had done this from the beginning, and thus Malik couldn't tell if Genesis was lying to him or if she was simply trying to keep herself calm.

He didn't like not knowing. It just made him even more irritated. Instead he grunted out;

"What's your name?"

"A gentlemen should tell his name before asking a lady her own." she quipped back quickly, a noticeable raise of the brow and a barely concealed smirk.

Malik could just feel his eye wishing to twitch in annoyance. This woman wasn't making it easier and the expectant look upon her face clearly told him she wasn't going to divulge him anymore information unless he did as asked.

Oh, how he wished he wasn't bound by the three tenants of the Creed as of the moment.

"Malik."

"Nice to meet you, Malik." she stated civilly enough. "I'm Genesis."

After that she refused to divulge any and all information, no matter the method Malik attempted to use. It was as if she did not care about what happened to her. He didn't have the time for this and he knew it. He'd have to take her to the Bureau for now. He could find out the information he needed when he finished gathering information on his target. He let Genesis go, on the condition that if she ran he wouldn't be above crippling her to which she gave a sarcastic salute.

His irritation only grew and he resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, instead opting to glare daggers at the woman who only smiled back charmingly, as if not understanding his irritation.

He gestured to her exposed midriff. "You can't go out looking like that."

Genesis had to bite back a chuckle at this. He sounded like an overprotective father. Instead she planted her hands on her hips and she tilted her head to the side. "I see no reason to-"

"Or I can knock you out, tie you up, and just kidnap you and save myself the headache."

"That sounds unpleasant. Let's cover up shall we?"

Genesis was quick to untie the jacket from around her hips and tug it back on, though she left it unzipped. Malik crossed his arms and raised a brow at her, as if to ask 'Really?' to which Genesis sighed, rolled her eyes, and zipped up the hoodie halfway thus covering her stomach from view and then holding out her hands as if to say 'There. Happy?' He eyed her for a minute before tugging the hood over her jacket up over her head as well and gesturing for her to follow silently.

It had been a long day, and both had a feeling that it was only going to get longer, though the two traveled in silence. One in irritation and the other wondering just what was going to happen next.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

* * *

Silver shuffled from foot to foot nervously, biting the inside of her cheek as she looked up at the rooftop. It wasn't that high, really, but any height was enough for someone who suffered from vertigo. She could feel the man's eyes glaring into the back of her head, silently demanding her up the ladder so they could get a move on. Silver knew that he wouldn't go up until she had, to make sure she wouldn't run off.

Silver was sure that even if she did try to run off Altair would easily catch her.

Hesitantly she took a hold of the first rung and began her ascent up to the roof slowly, keeping her gaze on the building ahead of her, though anxiety still began to make her heart beat faster and her mouth grow cotton-y.

Once she was atop the roof it took all she had to keep from rushing back down, not that she could with Altair on the ladder right below her. Once atop the roof he gave her a glare as if telling her that running was a very bad idea.

Running was the last thing on Silver's mind, honestly. She was too concerned with the possibility of falling off the roofs. Having reviewed the memories back in Abstergo multiple times over she knew what she was in for next and she was not going to enjoy it, not one bit!

And sure enough without so much as a word the white-clad man took a running leap to the next roof, tucking and rolling as he landed to soften the blow on his legs. Gulping Silver stepped over to the edge of the roof and, even though she willed herself not to, took a glance down. The anxiousness overtook the expression on her face and she quickly back pedaled away from the edge, shaking her head, unaware of Altair having turned to see if she was trying to run or not.

It seemed this was going to be harder than he thought... And that only worked to worsen his already aggravated mood.

"Hurry it up, woman." snapped Altair, eyes narrowing in irritation as the woman refused to follow after him.

The anxious look upon Silver's face turned to that of frustration as she met his gaze. "I'm sorry," she snapped, fists clenching tightly at her sides, and the majority of her fear of heights forgotten for the moment. "Not everyone is raised to hop scotch across roofs at the drop of a hat."

He didn't know what 'hop scotch' was, but he refused to question it. Questioning something he didn't know to anyone else but Master Al Mualim would take swallowing some of his pride and that was unacceptable. It would just be another of those things he would forget about later, Altair decided.

* * *

Taking the streets wasn't as quick as it would be taking the roofs, but Malik had no way of knowing just how capable this woman was at hopping from roof top to roof top. It may end up being slower to go that way if she had no experience with it or could not pick up on the way to do it rather than to go via streets. So streets they went, with Genesis following closely to Malik to keep from losing him in the main streets until he led her down the side and back alleys where there was no way to get lost within the crowd.

Of course this posed a rather interesting problem that Malik had not foreseen which involved Genesis and a drunkard.

A low grunt issued from the woman before her body smashed into his back sending the two staggering into the nearest wall, Genesis smashing Malik between the stone wall and her small frame. Malik had enough time to turn around and send a glare at the woman before she herself had spun around on her heel already charging after the babbling man who swayed drunkenly, a deranged grin upon his dirty face.

"C'mere, ya little shit! I'm gonna kick you in your face!" she promised as she stalked towards the man. Malik growled in annoyance hurrying forward and grabbing onto the back of the woman's jacket to pull her along with him as he turned and headed back down the way they were originally going despite her struggling.

"I do not have time for this, woman," Malik hissed lowly, glancing over his shoulder as if this would help convey his message.

"I do!" came the insistent answer. Malik resisted the urge to sigh at this woman. She was such a nuisance and it was a miracle he had put up with her so soon. No, scratch that... Malik decided it was a miracle she was still alive with such an attitude! He had known many to be executed for less, after all...

* * *

Altair stopped on the other side of the sloppily, yet still somehow sturdily, tied planks that served as a makeshift bridge over the gap between roofs. Turning he wasn't surprised to see Silver standing before those planks, playing with her fingers as she nervously stared down at the bridge he had just crossed in a matter of seconds.

"If it can hold my weight it can hold yours, woman." he scoffed in irritation once again. Really, this was just one huge pain in the ass for him. If it wasn't for that one tenant of the creed...

Silver harrumphed, glaring daggers and death at the man before glancing back at the planks. They sure didn't look like they'd hold her weight... What if they broke? She knew for a fact they didn't have very productive medical or sanitation procedures in this era. Oh, she really didn't want to risk breaking a leg... It hadn't sounded pleasant in her time and it sure sounded worse now!

"If I have to come over there and grab you, you will not like it," Altair warned cryptically. Silver didn't doubt it.

Silver slid her foot over the boards leaning her weight onto it and attempting not to look over the sides of the planks. Already she could feel herself growing dizzy. The boards groaned under her weight though did not break. She slipped her other foot on after the other and slowly shifted her way over to the other side in this strange manner. It was a tedious process and took several long minutes but she made it safe and sound on the other end before an aggravated assassin.

Silver sighed in relief. But that was before Altair took off, once again leaving her on that roof to jump and roll onto the next and waiting for her, no doubt with a glare hidden beneath the shadows of his hood.

Silver decided she detested the Crusade era as she tried to find away to the other roof without injuring herself...

It was a long and slow process, just like that of Silver crossing those planks, until they had reached the Assassin's Bureau. The sun, high up in the sky, only served to make Silver even more miserable as her dark clothes drew the sun's rays to her and made her hotter and hotter. But she refused to take off her hoodie or hat.

The bureau's entrance was a simple one, a square entrance cut into a wooden gate-like roof top covered with delicate looking vines to help conceal it from farther away. Silver was surprised no one found the Assassins like this! Just looking down and she could see the pillows used for guests to sleep upon while in that bureau's cities on missions or visiting...

Then again, not a lot of people were on the rooftops...

A hand on her back was the only warning Silver received before she was shoved into the bureau entrance. She landed on her feet, luckily, but the shock of her sneakers smacking against the hard stone ground reverberated up her legs and caused her to fall to her hands and knees to blink at the orange-ish ground. Silver received no warning that Altair followed suit, only that one second he was still up on the roof and the next there was a thud and a flash of white as he tucked and rolled to soften his landing and he was there before her.

"Lord!" She placed a hand to her chest as if to steady her quickly beating heart as she glared at the man's head. He shot her a look as if to say 'Stay here' before moving into the next room. Silver resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him as he left.

"He~ey!" came a sing-song voice. One that was familiar... Silver blinked again and turned to look in the shadowed corner by the fountain that she had landed before. There sat Genesis, lounging lazily in the corner, a rather mischievous look upon her face as she gave a sarcastic wave. Her jacket was unzipped once again, showing off her belly, though the hood was pulled up onto her head. "How's life, chica~?"

"You!"

"Me."

"... I'd argue with you but I just don't have the energy..." Silver sighed.

"Good to hear, Red." Silver shot a half-hearted glare. "You look about ready to cry."

"Shut up." Silver didn't deny it. Facing her fears, dealing with a man yelling at her for a good chunk of the day, and being stuck in a situation she didn't know how to handle... She was surprised she hadn't started crying yet...

The conversation was cut short as foot steps resounded and an aging man appeared in the doorway wearing similar robes to that of Altair and Malik with an accompanying black robe thrown over the top. His face was deeply tanned and beginning to wrinkle around his mouth and eyes.

"Interesting..." was all the man muttered, his cold eyes appraising the two women. Silver gulped. Genesis stared back unabashedly.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

* * *

Voices could be heard from inside that darkened room that the black-robed man had disappeared in after having appraised the two women the Assassins had brought with them, seeking advice on what to do with each one respectively. Genesis was still lounging in that corner she had claimed since having arrived in the bureau while Silver was noticeably anxious about what was going to happen to her.

In fact, Genesis took to stare in boredom as the woman bit her lip and fidgeted where she stood. She also noticed that Silver took to shifting her weight from foot to foot in her nervousness.

"You should really calm down," yawned Genesis and Silver blinked at her. "The worse they can do is kill us~."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about!" snapped Silver with a huff as she narrowed her eyes at her companion. "And why do you seem so at ease with that?"

"I figure I can't care about anything if I'm dead."

"... ... ... That strangely makes sense..." Silver begrudgingly relented, though she didn't necessarily agree to live by that strange logic.

In that other darkened room the three men spoke retelling of how they had met with each woman and (except in the case of Altair) asked the Rafiq for advice on what to do. Instead Altair stood brooding as the Rafiq spoke about possible options with Malik - the both of them being ever cautious. In fact, Altair was blaming this entire situation on Abbas. If the man hadn't still been healing up from his last mission it would have been Abbas going about Jerusalem and retrieving all of this information on Altair's target - thus Abbas should have been the one to deal with this scenario!

"As you stated before, Malik, it is against our Creed to merely kill them as they have done nothing wrong..." Rafiq reiterated pulling out a yellowed sheet of parchment, an ink well, and a quill. "Thus I will send message to Master Al Mualim and upon your return you will take these two women with you for him to decide what to do with them."

The scribbling of the quill on parchment soon accompanied the muffled sounds of the crowds on the streets outside the Bureau's walls. Altair sent Malik a scathing look;

"It is preposterous to believe that woman you found to be an assassin, Malik." came his accusation easily.

"As preposterous as it sounds Eagle Vision does not lie," Malik defended icily, glaring back at Altair unflinchingly. "If you do not believe me than see for yourself on your way out."

"Enough!" demanded the Rafiq as he replaced the quill into the inkwell, allowing the ink upon the parchment to dry before he would send it off via pigeon to Masyaf. His own eyes cut into theirs and Malik lowered his head slightly in obedience. Altair resisted a scoff. "You each have your missions to finish tonight. Go now."

"As you wish," came Malik's response as he swept past Altair without glancing at the man and onto his mission. He spared the woman Altair had found a brief look before he scurried up the fountain and onto the rooftops to go out and find his intended target.

"I assume since he didn't shank one of us we're gonna live..." Genesis pointed out as Silver stared up at the opening in the grated roof where Malik had disappeared at. It was her way of trying to make the woman feel better if it would only get her to stop fidgeting so much. "Or just ignore me; that's cool, too."

Silver did just that as footsteps rang out and Altair appeared taking his time to reach the fountain and follow after Malik for his own assassination mission. This time the man shot Genesis a glance as she moved and her eyes narrowed. She hated being stared at. At least Malik had only glanced at Silver, not stared.

Altair willed his jaw not to drop as it had wanted to do so as he used Eagle Vision has Malik had dared to see if his claim was true. And there it was, from the corner of his eye he could see Silver still glowing that strange purple color and yet the other woman was that blue coloring that was associated with allies... And allies for assassinations in this day and age only proved to be other Assassins...

Genesis blinked at the man, having been staring off to the side where Malik had disappeared to. A smirk graced her lips and she gave an equally sardonic wave. Altair huffed, allowing the Eagle Vision to stop as he tore his gaze away from the woman and instead shifting his mind back to the mission at hand.

And just like Malik, in what seemed like only seconds he was up onto the roof and out of sight of the two women leaving them in silence with the rafiq in the other room doing who knew what. The silence was welcomed by Genesis, who actually preferred it over crowds of people (or people in general), not that her usual actions proved such. Silver glanced over in time to witness Genesis pull the hood of her jacket down lower over her face, covering her face from her nose up before settling back down as if to take a nap. Though Silver lightly noted that the foot that was suspended in the air via crossed legs (one knee laying atop the other which was bent at a near ninety degree angle) was keeping beat to some music she must be imagining.

Tearing her gaze from the laid back Genesis she brooded, eyes focused on the stone floor beneath her body. Silver began to feel that same feeling of worry and anxiousness gnawing at her again as she wondered as to what her fate would be with these men. The two that had brought them both here had left without a word as to what had been decided between them and this third man who also didn't seem intent on telling them what was going to happen.

Before she knew it Silver found herself on her feet, pacing back and forth before the pile of pillows she had been situated upon during her broodings. She really hated that her emotions ruled her so easily in situations like this sometimes...

Genesis however began to frown in irritation as she heard the footsteps back and forth... back and forth... Silver's pant legs dragging on the ground constantly as she moved making that annoying grating sound as it shifted dirt and pebbles along the stone... Normally she didn't mind the sound, but at the moment; It makes me want to thrash a small child... Genesis mused before sitting up in frustration, allowing the hood to fall down about her shoulders as she got to her feet herself. Minutes had turned into what seemed like hours as Silver had paced and now she felt the need to stretch her own legs.

Silver stopped as she spun back around on the ball of her foot in her pacing to spot Genesis climbing atop the fountain. She was slower than the two men had been but she was making progress, now reaching for the crevices in the wall above the fountain to continue her ascent onto the roofs.

Alarm bells rang in Silver's head. "What are you doing?"

"Going out." came the short answer and the irritation in it caused Silver to blink. She hadn't heard the woman that angry since she had first stood up to Vidic before this whole time travel mess had happened.

"Hey! ... Get back here!"

In the other room the Rafiq blinked, brow furrowing at the shouts coming from the room where the two women had been left to their own devices for the moment. Neither seemed like much of a threat in terms of fighting, only the unusual circumstances and their overall appearance kept them from being dismissed so casually. Being used to women being quiet and knowing their place caused a sense of alarm and discomfort to fill the older man as he heard the sudden shouting from the other room and it was this alarm that caused him to step from behind the counter and into said room to find out what the ruckus was about.

Once the Rafiq saw the predicament his mouth fell open slightly in disbelief, brow still tightly furrowed.

Genesis was atop the fountain and on her way out of the bureau, her hands holding tightly to the handholds in the stone to keep her place though her feet kept slipping out from under her. Silver, however, had a hold around the woman's waist pulling her backward, her own feet planted firmly on the rim of fountain that contained the water on the ground and pulling the other woman back. Her hat had fallen from her head in this scuffle, now showing off her messy brown tresses more fully.

An unusual length of hair for a woman in this day and age, cut more like a man's would be.

"Let go, damnit!" snarled Genesis, tossing a glare rivaling that of Altair's over her shoulder at Silver.

"No! I'm not risking getting killed because of you!"

"Oh, boo-hoo! Cry me a river!"

"Close-minded child!"

"Stick-in-the-mud brat!"

It was at this point that the Rafiq finally decided to intervene, his mouth closing as he clenched his fists in irritation. Women were to act more respectfully, after all! "What is going on here?" His voice was low and gravelly and carried a tone of danger within it. Both women stopped cold and looked over their shoulders at the man, blinking as if they were deer caught within a headlight's glare within the night.

"Uhhh..." stuttered Silver, eyes wide.

"Putting on a play?" guessed Genesis unsurely, a grin to match though there was no real joy within the expression.

* * *

The tolling of a large bell began to sound out into Jerusalem's usual bustling sounds. Malik cringed as he hid within the bale of hay, his eyes upon his target. No doubt they were ringing because of Altair. The man was reckless and growing more so as his rank within the Order was solidified. It did not help the man's arrogance, either, which had been insufferable before...

As his target, a Templar dedicated to hunting down anyone so much as accused of being an Assassin often killing the innocent in this bid, drew closer to his area Malik's mind took a different road.

What if it wasn't Altair this time? What if that equally insufferable woman, Genesis, had gotten out of the bureau and caused trouble?

Malik clenched his teeth and used that aggression he was feeling to transfer to the Templar. He lunged from the hay, the strands flying form his body to the ground (though some stuck to his person) as he shoved the hidden blade into the man's gut before allowing the body to drop to be found later.

Either way, Malik reasoned as he headed back to the bureau via roofs, the tolling bell would be either Altair or Genesis, he was absolutely sure of it. And either way, they both caused him untold amounts of grief and aggravation.


	7. Chapter 6

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **"The Poison" - The All-American Rejects :::(Genesis' and Silver's Theme 2)

* * *

Altair ran as fast as his legs could go over the rooftops, hopping across gaps or rushing over the occasional group of planks bridging those gaps without looking back. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, his heart racing in his ears as the guards shouting for him to stop and face the consequences of his actions (of assassinating yet another Templar) resounded through the city air. It was during his missions when he allowed his mind to clear from all aggravations that bothered him, at this point that included both women back in the bureau and Malik.

The bell's tolling droned on and on as it warned the city of the danger (in this case, himself, the Assassin) amongst them, the ringing echoing in the air before the next loud 'dong' refilled the air once more.

It was an event that he had grown used to over the years, having quickly risen through the ranks in the Assassin Order to become what he was now. He loved doing what he did, loved the rush of adrenaline that pumped through him during a mission. It was what he lived for.

Altair was the best and no one could tell him otherwise.

Even the guards, some of which stayed surprisingly close on his tail during a chase over rooftops, could not hope to slow him down.

Of course there was always the issue of losing those more persistent guards so that he may enter the bureau. If he drew to close with the guards right behind him the Rafiq would merely close it up to protect the Brotherhood. An annoyance he often faced now-a-days, but not one that couldn't be fixed easily.

Altair tucked and rolled as he landed upon another, much lower and small roof, allowing himself to roll right off the edge. He landed with a loud thud upon the hard-dirt road and a grunt, the hard landing sending tremors up his legs for but a second before he was up and running again.

"Assassin! You won't get away!"

With a near-silent scoff Altair rounded the nearest corner and smirked as a cart of hay came into sight. With but a rustle of the scratchy plants he disappeared easily and quickly within the depths of the wooden cart and the pile of hay placed inside. Given that the hider stayed quick and still the guards often overlooked such obvious hiding places, either giving up or moving to look elsewhere entirely. Of course, that wasn't to say there was the occasional overly-curious guard who did look... It was something that was easily dealt with, however...

"Where did he go?"

"Ah, it's not worth it!"

"Back to your posts then!"

"Yes, sir!"

Altair waited impatiently, though his training and discipline kept him stilled as the guards moved back down the streets this time around to their original posts. Such lazy men, Altair decided as he emerged from the large pile of hay, brushing the yellow strands away that stubbornly clung to his person and moving back to the nearest ladder to continue via roofs. It was quicker that way and he was less likely to be spotted so long as he dealt with any roof guards that were posted however that wasn't likely as of the moment. So close to the bureau he doubted he would run into any of those nuisances.

As predicted, he ran into no roof top guards as the small golden dome of the building that always accompanied the bureau's roofs came into view, reflecting the sun's rays blindingly in all directions. He easily swung down into the bureau, landing with cat-like grace before moving on into that darker room where the Rafiq was usually seen behind the counter performing his duties.

In this case the Rafiq was not alone.

Sitting upon a stool in the backmost corner behind the counter was Genesis, slumped forward to rest her chin on a fisted hand, glaring at anything and everything from behind those strange contraptions upon her nose. The Rafiq was moving behind the counter, looking for something amidst the book shelves lining the wall behind them. The woman known as Silver was also in the room seated at a table along the wall and away from the counter, toying with the strange hat in her hands, keeping her eyes focused on it and it alone as if uncomfortable. And indeed she was, what with Malik in the room as well, having finished his mission easily and had come back to help the Rafiq keep an eye on both her and Genesis after having learned of Genesis' attempt to leave the bureau.

Seeing his stare Genesis flipped Altair off moodily. Altair glared back, his lips forming a thin line in irritation. The nerve of that woman...

"I suppose you have performed your task?" the old Rafiq asks, not turning away. He had caught the movement from the corner of his eyes and did not need to take too long to put two and two together.

"I have." came the short and simple answer, though not without a dose of arrogance within in place as Altair produced the blood feather token as proof.

"Oh yes, yes." cooed Malik, moving away from another table that held a large map of Jerusalem over it. "In fact what better way to tell us you have finished than by the bells tolling their warnings?"

"An Assassin is to be sure that his work is noticed." was Altair's quick rebuttal. It was met with an equally swift one from Malik.

"Be that as it may it does not mean you should perform your work within public if it is to be helped! You'll compromise the Brotherhood with your rash actions!"

The Rafiq, who was on the verge of retiring as an Assassin within the month (not a feat many achieved), quickly put a damper on the heated argument. Turning around he trained his intimidating glare on both the younger assassins before barking, "Enough!"

The two quieted immediately.

Silver, having glanced up shyly from her hat to watch the argument, blinked. Through the memories of the subjects at Abstergo she had not realized how much respect and authority the Rafiqs had held until now.

"Great," scoffed Genesis, speaking up for the first time in a long while after being demanded to sit in the corner where the Rafiq could keep an easy eye on her. "Now that they've finished what now?"

"Mind your tongue," Malik warned, though with less anger than he had directed towards Altair. It still made Silver flinch in her spot a little. She hated yelling... or anger in general... And she had to give credit to Genesis, she merely shot the man a scathing look for his words.

"There is still yet enough daylight to travel by," the Rafiq interjected, halting yet another argument that could have arisen if not properly squished. "Normally I would have you both stay until the alarms have quieted, but given the situation," he paused long enough to shoot both women a look as if to accuse them of the change in routine. "It would be best for you both to get to Masyaf as quickly as possible to allow Al Mualim to judge what is to happen with these young women."

"As you wish," echoed the two Assassins, inclining their heads respectfully to the Rafiq. As if that was their cue, Silver stood and replaced her hat atop her head as Genesis gratefully leaped from the stool she had been seated upon.

Having no supplies of their own there was nothing to pack and the two men grabbed nothing themselves merely heading out the door and ushering the women with them impatiently. Without a prompting from Malik this time around Genesis zipped up her jacket and slipped the cotton hood up over her head as if to prove she had common sense as well.

At least she learns, grunted Malik mentally as he glared pointedly at Altair's back who easily scaled the indents in the wall to make it back up to the roof with the ease of years of practice. Malik didn't move right away, waiting for the two to try first in case they needed a boost. Noticing he didn't move, Genesis went next, grasping the handholds she had discovered earlier in her attempt to leave and moving upwards herself.

She made it with no mishaps, if a little slower than either would have liked. Not that it was her fault. True she was an Assassin, but that had been in the (to her now) future, where climbing atop walls and using parkour skills were outdated, even by their standards. Not to mention not many Assassins in that time had enough skill even if they did perform parkour to scale skyscrapers in the bigger cities and live to tell the tale...

Silver unsurely moved to the wall herself, already knowing that the man on the ground with her would not go up until she had. She stepped atop the rim of the fountain and shuffled to the wall, stalling for time.

"Well, here goes nothing..." she mumbled before swallowing the lump in her throat. She had attempted to climb a rock wall in her life back home and she had climbed trees before... provided she didn't go too high or look down... But she couldn't even make it up that rock wall half way!

None-the-less she reached up and grabbed the highest point she could and began her own ascent.

Several minutes passed by as Silver attempted to scale the wall without looking down. Her face grew redder and redder as she became more aware of the trio staring at her and her attempt. It wasn't long before she felt hands push her up and let out a squeak of surprise glancing down (and regretting it as the vertigo hit) to see Malik's irritated look that he had to help her.

With a stammered "Thanks" she grabbed hold of the roof ledge and hurried up so as not to get any of the man's seemingly deep reservoir of anger directed at her. Once standing she was met with a smug look from Genesis and an equally aggravated one from Altair. The shuffling of clothes alerted her that the last of their rag tag group had made it up.

Apparently remembering their little trip over the roofs Silver was very glad when Altair led the way over to the ladder that led to the ground as if in silent agreement with Malik who followed. Once again Altair took the liberty of going down first, merely sliding down the wooden ladder and landing with a thump. Genesis crouched on the edge of the roof, placing a hand atop the structure before swinging over and merely dropping to the ground as well. Now it was her turn again...

Silver sat upon the edge, trying not to let the dizziness disrupt her balance as she placed her foot on a rung and gripped the sides of the ladder in her hands before descending slowly, her back facing the wall.

"You're going to hurt yourself going down the wrong way, woman." scoffed Malik, a brow raised at her method.

"Wait," Genesis blinks from down below as she looked up watching Silver's progress, a hand on her hip and the other shielding her eyes from the sun. "There's a wrong way to go down a ladder?"

"Shut up!" Silver cried, pouting slightly as she finished up her descent. "I don't care if it's the wrong way. I like seeing where I'm stepping." she justified, folding her arms over her chest and looking away in embarrassment. Malik slid down the ladder as Silver moved to give him room.

Dropping from heights must be an Assassin thing... Silver mused, remembering how Genesis had done the exact same thing on their mini-quest for the Apple... The 'quest' that had started this whole mess in the first place. I really need to get some alone time before I break down in front of these people... she determined following after Altair and Genesis once more, Malik bringing up the rear. Silver despised having people see her cry, but if she had an emotional overload before she could find a place to be alone than that's exactly what would happen.

They took the back streets, away from the guard posts as they made their way from the Assassin Bureau to the city gates. The bell's warning tolls had quieted but that didn't mean that the guards were any less alert yet. In fact it seemed many of them were still stalking the main streets with swords drawn ready to strike at anyone that tried anything "Assassin-like" in their minds.

A few babbling ill men were their only hindrances on their way until they came to the gates themselves where several guards stood in a neat line, watching the road inward for any type of a threat. They couldn't very well just pass through, not with the city on alert for men dressed in white such as Altair and Malik.

"We could not pass off as monks with the women..." Malik pointed out, eyeing the group of white-clad praying men pass by the gates. They usually had no qualms with one of the Assassins blending within their groups.

"We could use a distraction-" Altair began, already a plan of killing a guard and leaving the body in plain sight being formed.

"I got it!" Genesis interrupted with a snap of the fingers. She quickly performed an about face and moved towards the guards without a care, shoulders squared and head held tall.

"Wait!" demanded Malik quietly enough not to draw attention to them. Genesis did not heed his call.

"She does not listen to directions well," Silver pointed out with a shrug.

"Just like another I know of," scoffed Malik, glaring at Altair who glared right back unabashedly as usual.

"Heretic!"

The sudden cry of the guard brought their attention back to Genesis, worried that she had blown their cover. Instead the guards were rounding on another poor soul. A man, though he was clearly armed as well, his grubby hands reaching for the knife at his belt as the guards advanced on him. Outside the gates stood Genesis, gesturing for the three of them to hurry through before the fight was determined.

Genesis had waited for the perfect chance, in this case another person who was armed and could defend himself, before shoving her body forcefully into his and into a guard's causing the domino effect to arise.

Guards are touchy, Genesis chuckled as she was rejoined by the others and shepherded alongside Silver to the stables nearby. It was here that Genesis grew a little nervous. Malik and Altair rounded up their two horses and what seemed to be two extras, once for each woman.

Silver smiled, now dealing with something she was very familiar with; horses. She had schooled to take care of and ride horses after all. She patted the light brown horse's muzzle, taking the reigns in her hand. It nickered in response.

Genesis merely stared at the horse she was to ride. A dark colored horse with white mane and tail to boot. The horse blinked at her, champing on the bit in his mouth. Genesis blinked back. Beside her Altair swung up onto his black furred steed, the white diamond on his head standing out in the daylight. Malik too was already in the saddle of his dark brown mare.

"What's wrong with you, child?" Silver inquired, glancing over at her fellow woman who hadn't moved. Genesis blinked at the horse again, reigns held loosely in her hand.

"I don't know how to a ride a horse..."

"Are you serious?" Malik all but groaned. Naturally their journey had to be made harder. Now the woman would either have to be taught or ride with one of them...

"Useless." scoffed Altair. Genesis shot him a withering look. "Can't even get on a horse."

"I know how to get on a horse!" growled the woman, before moving to the mammal's right side, stepping in the stirrup and swinging herself up easily. Silver slapped her forehead. The action didn't go unnoticed by Genesis. "What?"

"You're generally supposed to get on the left side," Silver answered with a sigh. Blank look from Genesis accompanied by a blink of the eyes. "And you're not supposed to use the saddle horn to get on! You're supposed to use the horse' mane!"

"Why? What's it matter so much that I can't get on on the right side?"

"Most horses are trained as such, woman," scoffed Altair, growing ever more impatient at the delays that kept presenting themselves. "Now either hurry and learn to ride or else."

"You even _try_ anything and I'll kick you in your face, boy!"


	8. Chapter 7

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **"Trouble" - Pink _:::(Genesis' Theme 4)_

* * *

Silence between the group. The clopping of the horses' hooves over the hard packed dirt filled that silence only slightly amidst the sounds of nature. There had been a bit of snappy talking between Silver and Genesis as they left Jerusalem but only in that Silver was instructing Genesis on how to steer her steed. After it was established that Genesis had the basics down enough to not need to be babysat on her horse the conversation had died.

Of course, one thing Genesis had not yet learned was to move along with the horse's beat. So, instead of moving along smoothly with the horse, Genesis was being jostled all around and would no doubt be sore for it later.

The silence wasn't helping it either. Due to the silence she had nothing to really focus on, once she had gotten used to steering her steed when need be. With nothing to focus on, she grew to focus on how uncomfortable it was to be jostled all around in her saddle. That would have to be remedied soon...

"So... how's the weather?"

Silver blatantly ignored the look Genesis sent her way, instead glancing at Altair and Malik instead. For as much as she didn't like talking to those she didn't know well Silver hated awkward silences even more. And this had definitely been an awkward silence (at least for her).

Perhaps not the best topic of conversation to start with, a little lame, yes, but wasn't that the topic you were supposed to start with when you didn't know what else to talk about? Silver believed so.

"We do not have time for idle chatter," scoffed Malik. Altair noticeably ignored them all. Silver's eyes narrowed at Malik who had shot her an accusatory glance. From atop her own horse Genesis shot the man a glare as well. Sure, they were not all buddy-buddy, but all they were doing was traveling, what better time for chit-chat?

"Hey! Don't be a jerk!" scolded Genesis, noticing that Malik glanced over his shoulder for but a second to acknowledge he heard her.

Silver nodded, finding it odd that she was agreeing whole-heartedly with the woman who had been, essentially, a prisoner of hers just days before. "We may not like each other but there is no need to be rude to each other." she pointed out patiently.

"And you're the worst out of the two of you!" accused Genesis rudely, pointing at Altair who turned and shot her a bland, unimpressed look at her accusation. "You shouldn't ignore pretty girls, you know! Even Malik has more manners than a pig like you."

"What did I just say about being rude to each other?" Silver sighs, irritation flashing across her face.

"And just what do you mean by that?" chimed both men simultaneously at Genesis. They both pointedly ignored the fact that they had mimed each other unintentionally, opting to forget that little aspect in later days to come.

"Oh just that Malik proves to be more of a gentlemen than you (even if he is incredibly rude, too)," Genesis answers lightly, smirk plastered on her face as she held up a hand as if shrugging with it.

"Seriously. You're such a hypocrite, right now, you know that, right?" Silver inquires, irritated look sent in Genesis' direction. Genesis merely smiled back from atop her steed, mind now focused on something else beside the less-than-pleasant horse ride.

"At least she is not blind," Malik grunts, in regards to Genesis' statement to Altair being the ruder of the pair of Assassins.

Altair decided to take a different route in the forced conversation, however; "As soon as I see two pretty girls I will be sure to let you know, woman."

Shock froze Genesis' expression in place, eyes wide in disbelief at his comment and mouth slightly open. Even Silver was offended by the comment, her brows furrowing into that of another glare aimed at the stoic man's back.

"I'm pretty, damnit!" Genesis cried in outrage, glare back in place after only a moment of the offended shock at the man's words. Altair spared the woman another glance over his shoulder, appraising her.

"Could have fooled me," he answered turning back around.

"B-Bastard! I'm not talking to you for three days!"Altair's eyes narrowed beneath his hood at the insinuation of his creation into the world. He wisely stayed silent, however.

"That is not a punishment, so to say," Malik answered, not bothering to turn around to view the woman's reaction. Silver glanced at Genesis to see her fuming, hands gripping the reigns unnecessarily tightly.

"I... don't think she really cares..." Silver points out, blinking before turning back to look before her. The horse beneath her nickered as if in agreement and Silver smiled, patting her muscled neck. "You think so, too, huh, Pelagia?"

Silver straightened back up and glanced around at their surroundings, mind working again to fill this new awkward silence. Perhaps not speaking to Altair would be best... He was the ruder of the two, and while Malik was rude as well he seemed to be lightening up around the women and was less insulting than the other. Trivial topics such as the weather didn't seem to work well, either...

"How long until we reach our destination?" Silver inquires and Genesis blinked, paying more attention. True, she was still fuming over the slight to her appearance but information was just as important as her pride.

"Assuming nothing goes wrong or nothing unexpected pops up it should be five days if we hurry." came the sure answer. Clearly the men made this journey many times over the course of their lives.

"And what would these... unexpected things be... exactly?"

"Bandits and Templars mostly."

"I see..." Silver nervously fiddled with the ring about her index finger, rolling it around over and over. She always wore it, though it was usually hidden from view with the sleeve of her jacket. It was one she'd had for a long time and one Silver did not wish to part from, as it was a reminder of her grandfather...

Yes, she was a Templar, but not entirely by choice... If it hadn't for Abstergo essentially lording the lives of her parents and siblings over her head she never would have joined the war between them and the Assassins...

Silence lapsed back over the group, Silver deep in thought and Genesis still fuming as they traversed the landscape to Masyaf. The last of the day passed quickly before they had to stop and set up camp, reminding the girls of the differences in traveling now and from their original time. The saddle bags were taken from each horse, mats laid out with their blankets (Genesis noticeably moved as far away from the group as she was allowed. Whether this was because she was still angry at Altair or just personal preference no one knew), wood gathered for a fire...

True to her word, Genesis flat out ignored Altair with her words. Though when asked to hand him something or to fetch something she would often merely throw it at his head as hard as she could. The first item had landed (the blanket to his mat) though after that he was savvy enough to pay attention and catch or deflect each thrown object. Aggravation built up in him and he had to continually remind himself of the creed's tenants.

However, she got along just fine with Malik and even Silver, with the occasional insult here and there (Silver had come to learn that that was just apart of who she was, Malik seemed to grasp the idea though wasn't as accepting of it as Silver was, often throwing an insult back though it never escalated over that).

Dinner was a simple meal of meat and a chunk of bread from the packs. The meal was meager compared to what both girls had of the future, where portions were larger and obesity a serious problem of the masses. Not to mention the lack of flavored drinks or juices, instead only having the water in their water pouches to drink.

Sleep came soon after, not surprisingly. With no electricity or electronics as in Silver and Genesis' age there was no reason to stay up after dark for much longer. Though the Assassins would keep watch, one staying awake for so long before waking the other to take over and let the first one sleep the rest of the night. It was something Genesis was familiar with having done such watches before in her life, though she would obviously not be trusted to partake in this watch.

Instead she curled up atop her mat, blanket wrapped around her frame and her back to the fire to prevent anyone sneaking up from behind her. Silver laid upon her stomach, hugging the blanket around her body as well, tucked under chin and hat on the ground beside her mat. She knew she would not sleep soon, being in a new place. It was another quirk of hers.

Either by unspoken agreement or from habit Altair staid up, sitting upon the boulder he had taken occupancy on since dinner to take first watch between the two. Malik moved to his own mat, not bothering to unroll the blanket instead using it as a pillow and rolling onto his side. He probably would not use the blanket unless absolutely necessary due to cold, to reduce the hazard of tripping on the fabric in case of an attack where his service was required.

The crackling fire and the wildlife in the night played through the air as the trio attempted to sleep. Malik was aware of the two women still not having fallen asleep around him, their breathing patterns not having slowed yet. Silver, not accustomed to sleeping in this new environment, could not ease her nerves and mind to allow sleep so soon and Genesis' insomnia combated her want for sleep as was usual for the wild woman and not a surprise to her.

The night seemed to pass slowly for Altair, stuck on watch as it usually did with nothing but the fire to really watch for any movement (though Genesis continued to shift positions for at least an hour and a half to two hours before eventually falling asleep when she stilled and when Silver fell asleep she rolled... a lot...). Instead he used this time to brood, his hand ready to spring to the hilt of his knife or sword if any danger presented itself while he did so.

He vaguely wondered just where Silver and Genesis were from, their clothes being strange ones - and what country allowed women to wear pants as they did so freely? Not that he considered it blasphemy as many men did, but it was certainly an oddity he had to wonder about. He also began to muse over what Al Mualim may do with the two once they reached Masyaf and they pleaded their case, so to speak, to the leader of the Assassin Order.

Death certainly wasn't out of the question, if Al Mualim believed them to be of no use to the Assassins or if they might be Templar spies and really using a woman would be ingenious, who would suspect them? But then Altair had to remind himself of how strange these women were and scrapped that idea entirely. Spies were meant to blend in not stick out like sore thumbs.

And even then, that wouldn't explain the Eagle Vision... Genesis' blue was unmistakable. Someway, somehow she was already an ally to them, though he knew not how this had come to be. No one just appeared blue unless expressly knowing an Assassin and Genesis did not seem to know anyone from the area or from Masyaf. And if she had ever been in Masyaf before Altair was sure he'd remember a woman as wild and reckless as she was.

Silver's purple coloring in Eagle Vision was more confusing and unexplainable however. There were only four colors! Red for enemy, blue for ally, gold for a target you needed, and white for anyone who had information you needed. It was the ultimate intuition! So what did purple mean?

By the time he had awoken Malik halfway into the night and laid down to sleep he was nowhere closer to answer than he had been before.

The next day and the day after that passed much like the first, though without Silver having to teach Genesis horse riding. The woman had picked it up well, though she still had yet to learn to move with the horse's movements as well. In fact, the day after that first ride it was obvious to tell she had never ridden a horse before in her life as she had stated beforehand. She limped and winced every now and again though Genesis did her best to hide the discomfort from the group, refusing to complain or whine about it. Instead she got right back up on the horse without a word on that second day.

Another point of interest to the Assassins was the women acclimating to the climate. Altair and Malik had both held suspicions that the two were foreigners but this proved it. The proof was mostly within their voices, which sounded 'off' from their usual voices on that third day. Where ever they were from it certainly was not from the area or anywhere like it.

Trouble didn't strike until that fourth day, having drawn ever closer to Masyaf from Jerusalem without incident it was bound to happen. The group had stopped for a short lunch break and to allow the horses to rest a bit (a demand that came surprisingly from the usually passive Silver. It seemed she was quite the horse-lover).

"Look! Such strange clothes..."

At the shout the two men and Genesis were instantly to their feet as if knowing what to expect. Altair and Malik knew it as what it was; bandits. Genesis had jumped to her feet in case of a break out in fighting, she didn't want to be caught sitting down if it were to occur.

"Surely they will pinch a pretty coin!"

Swords in hand already the Assassins shifted into fighting positions, feet widening as three bandits rushed them from the nearby brush, their own blades drawn. The clanging of metal on metal filled the air as the fighting began. Silver jumped to her feet in shock, only to feel arms wrap around her and hold her in place.

"Hey! Let go!" not that she expected the shout to do much, but it had been the first thing to come to mind as she began to struggle. Her struggling soon ceased as she was just about to stomp on the man's toes as he placed a knife against her throat.

"Easy now. Wouldn't want to kill a woman who would fetch a nice price as a slave, you know?"

Several feet away from her, Genesis was standing, fists clenched loosely and raised slightly, feet widened into a stance as she glanced here and there as if looking for something. The bespectacled woman failed to notice who was behind her.

"Watch out!" Silver's warning mixed in together with Malik's, who had turned to see if their temporary charges were in danger, having gathered a few second's reprieve as he kicked his opponent away easily.

The bandit having snuck up behind Genesis wrapped his own arms around the woman to entrap her in a bear hug type maneuver as Silver was stuck within. "Got'cha!" he cried victoriously, grinning and showing off rotting teeth. An unimpressed look crossed Genesis' face before a more serious and enraged one took place.

Instead of panicking and struggling Genesis remembered her training. Instead of allowing the man a chance to place a knife at her throat, Genesis performed a reverse bear trap move. Widening her stance, the foot closest to the bandit's body shifting behind his own as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his, trapping him to her body. She then fluidly kicked her leg out from behind, elbowing the man in his chest and sending him toppling to the ground.

Silver blinked in surprise as Genesis followed up the maneuver with a good old fashioned curb stomp to the man's face. She even reached down and wrested the knife from his hands to finish the job thoroughly.

The sight of the blood caused a lump to form in Silver's throat and her stomach to churn. She quickly looked away only to see Altair slap his opponent across the face with enough force to spin the man around before stabbing the length of his sword into the man's torso. More blood. More stomach churning for Silver.

She closed her eyes instead.

Malik dodged around the bandit's knife easily before slipping the blade attached to his arm into the man's neck in retaliation, sword in his right hand. These bandits were easy to deal with. Turning he checked to see if Genesis had dealt with the man on her (she seemed to possess some skill, as much as he wanted to not believe it). She was dancing around with another bandit, a blade in her hand that he presumed she had stolen from the bandit she had dispatched a minute ago.

The last bandit was occupied with Genesis with one other still holding Silver captive. "Hold it now! If you don't stop and surrender I'll kill the wench!" All movement stopped for about... three seconds.

Altair came to the rescue, surprisingly, with an expertly tossed throwing knife that landed square in the man's neck. He gurgled, blood dribbling down his lips as he pressed a hand to the wound to attempt to stem the flow before toppling to the ground. Silver took several steps forward, regaining her balance and attempting to keep her stomach from churning all the more as the coppery tang of blood filled her nose.

Genesis made her move then on her own unsuspecting foe, leaping forward and smashing her fisted hand into the man's throat, sending him reeling in pain and surprise. She followed up with a quick stab to the neck, mimicking Altair's aim to finish the job quickly.

She wasn't quick enough to escape being doused in a bit of blood, however. A look of disgust filled her face as she attempted to remove the blood off of her sleeve with several flicks of her arm. "Ah! This was my favorite jacket, you bastard child!"

"What was that?" Altair inquires slowly, taking several steps towards Genesis who stopped what she was doing and began blinking at the man.

"What? Girl has to know how to defend herself, you know." Silver slapped her forehead at this answer. Clearly Genesis forgot what time they were in exactly. A time of misogyny and of weak women, physically and mentally.


	9. Chapter 8

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **"Under Pressure" - Queen

* * *

Silver's hands began to shake in nervousness and she was sure that if she was standing and not atop Pelagia her knees would be as well. The Assassins of Masyaf had come into view, guarding what seemed to be some type of a watch tower between two giant rock walls on either side of the road. At what seemed to be decorative pillars of sorts stood two more of these white and gray clad men, standing watch to protect their home. This didn't include the few scattered around the cliff wall edges, white amidst the stone gray.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were quite near to their final destination and in conjunction to meeting this mysterious Al Mualim guy.

Something told her that death could quite possibly be an option that the man could choose from if he so pleased. This didn't help to ease her nerves any.

As they passed the large pillars (all of which looked worn with age and exposure to weather) Silver spared a glance over at Genesis, wondering how the other woman was dealing with being so close to what could possibly be the end of their lives.

Instead of looking even the tiniest bit worried the woman was glancing around at their surroundings as they rode down the long winding road, more interested in the scenery rather than her own fate. Or if Genesis was worried about it she was hiding it rather well... Somehow Silver doubted that, the woman never worried about anything.

And she was right, Genesis was not worrying about the upcoming meeting with Al Mualim. Why worry about something she couldn't control? So instead she watched the passing scenery silently as they rode down that curvaceous dirt road, passing by many Assassins on foot - she even spotted another Rafiq on his way out of Masyaf back to the city he was normally stationed at.

They had all been quiet all day, as if knowing how serious the situation was, and it only served to further bolster Silver's worry.

Once they reached the tall wooden gates (made from sharpened logs stuck into the ground at a vertical angle with a square entrance cut into it) it was made obvious that the rest of the journey through Masyaf would be on foot. The horses were dismounted from and led to the stables off to the side, outside of the gates where what appeared to be stable boys were working, cleaning the horses, replacing old hay with clean, etc. etc. It was a ritual Silver was familiar with.

With instructions from Malik to the stable boys to take care of the two new additions to the stables they were off (after a quick farewell from Silver to Pelagia and Genesis patting her own steed upon the nose and christening him 'Balthier').

Genesis was grateful for the chance to walk and stretch her legs. She didn't know about the others but her legs had gotten rather cramped from not moving for so long. She once again took to glancing out of the corners of her eyes at her surroundings, not wanting to seem to easily distracted as they took what seemed to be the default order of their group. Altair once again took the lead, following the old worn out path up the large hill and to the fortress of Masyaf that could be seen from their position higher up. Behind him followed Genesis with Silver tagging along almost hesitantly and Malik bringing up the rear to make sure neither of them made a run for it.

Really, neither of them were that idiotic to believe they could make any sort of an escape now of all places, with so many Assassins out and about. With so little of them in their original time, it was hard to believe that such a mass gathering had ever once existed.

Masyaf was a quaint place, with civilians out and about performing their chores and going about their lives peacefully, sure that if anything were to happen the Assassins in the fortress would do their best to protect them. Intermingling with them was the occasional Assassin on his down time. The houses were small and simple in structure but helped to give the place its charm.

That changed the instant the group stepped foot into the fortress itself. The stone and concrete walls gave off a cold feeling and the shadow cast upon the area left an ominous feeling. It was as if the area was setting the mood for what was to come...

"Malik! Altair! Good to see you have made it back to us in one piece!" came the greeting to the two Assassins as they reached the main fortress' open doorway. Inside bookshelves filled with tomes, books and scrolls could be seen to each side with more assassins dressed in rich whites decorated with red trimming wandered about this knowledge. "And who are these young women?" The man's dark eyes glittered joyously form under his gray hood as he surveyed the two curiously, the lower half of his face covered by length of gray clothe as a half mask.

"That is none of your concern," grunts Altair, merely wishing for this entire ordeal to be over with so he could get on with his life. Behind him Genesis shifted, bland expression adorning her face as she stuffed her hands into her jacket's pockets after shoving the sleeves up to her elbows.

"Maybe it is his concern," she pipes up, staring back easily at Altair's glare as he turned to do so as if willing her to shut up. Instead she decided to elaborate. "I mean maybe he's some creepy rapist - no offense - that likes to profi-"

Malik had begun to move around Silver, to clamp a hand around Genesis' mouth to shut up her up as Silver slapped her forehead in disbelief at the woman's antics. Her eyes narrowed and she removed her hands from her pocket to cross her arms over her chest unhappily.

"They're here to see Al Mualim, that is all. Now let us be on our way," Malik answers smoothly.

"As you wish." Malik let go of the woman to allow her to move on her own, though she still shot the man an irritated glare before turning and following after Altair and Silver. Silver shot Genesis a look of her own as she hissed;

"What is your problem?"

For her defense Genesis genuinely looked to be thinking this answer over. "Ummm... Lack of self discipline." She nodded at her answer and, in a move that even surprised Genesis, Silver's face softened and she too nodded as if believing and accepting that answer.

Up the steps and onto what seemed like an indoor balcony of sorts that served as second floor only took but a few minutes, with a greeted "Al Mualim expects you" from one of the two Assassins at the door atop the first flight of steps that led back out into what seemed like a sunny yard of sorts. It was a far cry from the ominous cold inside of the fortress.

The group stood in front of a large pane-less window, the light shining in on a small desk that had a few scraps of parchment, an ink well and a quill atop it. To either side of the window were large bookshelves filled with knowledge and a few pigeon cages, the birds inside cooing to each other contently. On each of the shelves was a flag tacked to the tops of them draping down and proudly displaying the Assassin's symbol.

Silence engulfed them once again. It took several minutes before Genesis leaned towards Silver, still looking straight ahead, out that pane-less window. "Something wicked this way comes," she whispers before snickering and straightening up.

Silver bit her lip in an attempt not to laugh, momentarily forgetting her worry as Genesis shot a look at Altair who had given her a shove in a silent warning to behave. Not that it would do any good.

"I see you have all made it safely," the voice caused Genesis to sober and for Silver to grow tense in worry once again. It was a voice that warned all of the no-nonsense type of person that this man was. Silver turned her head to watch the man walk to them and vaguely observed as Genesis kept her gaze to the window, as if not willing to look at the man. In reality Genesis was watching discretely from the corner of her eyes.

"Master," as one the two men had spoken, respect heard in their voices as they gave a short bow to the aged man. He observed the group, one eye clouded with no vision and a large scratchy white beard adorning his features. The outfitting of a Rafiq adorned his body as he stepped up onto the slightly elevated area where what was assumed to be his desk stood.

Silence once again enveloped them as the old man took to observing the Assassins' charges he had received message about from Jerusalem's Rafiq. This was a strange circumstance, and while the old man had his theories nothing was concrete as of the moment.

"You can quite mind-raping us now, thanks."

At this simple comment from Genesis several things happened in the span of only seconds. Altair's bearing broke into that of a glare as he turned to send this intimidating glare to the woman who so disrespected his master while Malik did much the same on her other side. Beside Genesis and between her and Malik Silver's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in a panic as she began to visibly shake at the possibility of the consequences that would happen. Al Mualim's brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed in irritation.

"What is wrong with you?" Silver shouted still gaping at the shorter woman. Genesis turned to her, blinking once. It seemed she was the only one with any bearing left in the area.

"I thought we already discussed this."

"Mind your tongue, woman!" Once again Genesis blinked, slight surprise on her face as she turned back to Al Mualim to see the old man pointing at her threateningly. She didn't think anything of it, hands shoved nonchalantly into her pockets. "Or I'll have it cut from your mouth!"

"Ow." a slight grimace crossed Genesis' face for but a moment. "That sounds unpleasant..."

Al Mualim paced in front of his desk for but a second or so, running his hand over his face in frustration at this disrespectful woman. The letter had said the two were strange and the circumstances surrounding that strangeness with his men's Eagle Vision had been described. In fact, he had tested this story of theirs by using his own Eagle Vision as he had walked up. Indeed neither man had lied, though he had no suspicions that they had, merely had to see for himself.

Now all that was left was to figure out a way to deal with them...

"Your circumstances are strange ones," he began, turning his gaze back to the group - more specifically to Silver and Genesis. Silver quailed slightly at the man; by the look on his face it was obvious he hadn't forgiven Genesis' words. "As are your clothes and attitudes."

"Comes with the territory," Genesis smirks, looking proud at his observation. Silver gave her a light shove and Genesis grunted.

"What she means is that were we grew up at it kind of necessitated such things," Silver answers timidly, attempting to placate the man's temper that Genesis was poking at.

"And where exactly do you hail from?" Al Mualim inquired, turning his attention to the, in his view, more respectful of the two. Malik and Altair seemed to perk up at this answer, both having wondered the same thing but having not questioned them themselves. It just seemed like something best left to their master.

"Across the ocean; where else would you see clothes like these, ya dumb fu-" Genesis pipes up. Silver's panic rose again and she interrupted the reckless woman before she could finish the insult.

"What she means to say is that we're from far away!"

"Where from exactly?" the irritation and rage at Genesis was heard in the undertones, it didn't take a genius to figure out the woman was planning on insulting him once again though he still sounded calm and in charge.

It seemed this man wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"W-Well it's... uh..."

Taking pity on the nervous wreck of a woman Genesis spoke up once again, a little blander this time around having to cut back on what she really wanted to say. Even she had enough sense to realize the man held power. "We're from an off-the-grid town called Parm."

"I see," more pacing as he moved to the other side of his desk once again. It seemed the man liked to move as if restless and stir crazy. "And how is it that you two came to be here from your... Parm, was it?"

Another conundrum to get around. It's not like either of the girls could just get away with telling the men they were really from the future. They'd be condemned as insane. It seemed like Genesis was good at making up quick lies, however. Maybe if Silver could continue to interrupt the woman before the insults could be finished out loud they could get through this...

All was silent as the three men waited expectantly for an answer from one of the women. It seemed Genesis was having trouble. Panic crept into Silver, her heart pumping faster and beating loudly within her ears to the point she was sure everyone could hear it. Was Genesis at a loss as well?

Silver watched as a mischievous smirk crossed Genesis' face and her eyes widened. There was no way this could be good.

"I was captured for my exotic beauty, why else would I get here you bast-"

"She's saying that we were kidnapped by slavers and brought over here!"

Silver was sure her face was red and would give them away but Al Mualim nearly nodded to her answer. Behind her Genesis held a rather irritated look of her own for being interrupted so many times.

"Now, tell me why I should allow the two of you to live?" Al Mualim queries, turning to gaze at the two. Silver blanched at this inquiry, there was no way there was a satisfactory answer for this. Beside her Genesis blinked once... twice... hands still shoved within her jacket's pockets and head cocked to the side nonchalantly.

"Because in the right hands (mine) I can find a way to kill you with anything... Including that quill on our de-!"

A loud slap filled the air. As she had spoken confidently and supposedly sarcastically (though even Silver wasn't sure of this. It could just be that the woman was being dead serious) Al Mualim had stalked up to the short woman, reared his hand back and gave her a hard slap to the face that sent her glasses skittering to the floor.

Now Genesis gaped up at the man, a red hand print upon her cheek, in shock. It was the only time Silver had ever witnessed the woman's bearing being broken so thoroughly, and under different circumstances she would have found it hilarious.

"If you do not mind your place, woman, I will teach it to you!" Al Mualim warned lowly, pointing at the woman who still gaped at him. As the man turned and walked back up to his desk, clasping his hands behind his back Genesis turned to Silver, obviously offended at what had happened, and whispered;

"Did I just get bitch slapped?"

"You two are dismissed," Al Mualim orders, gesturing to Silver and Genesis who looked back up at him with wide-eyes (Genesis still had yet to regain her bearing). "I have much to think about. As for you, Altair, Malik; I wish to speak to you."

"And, u-uh, what's going to happen to us?" Silver ventures, playing with her fingers nervously.

"I have much to think over. Until it has been decided you two are dismissed, however neither of you are to leave the fortress." Al Mualim glared particularly at Genesis who held her hands up in what appeared to be a make-shift shrug as if to ask "What did I do?"


	10. Chapter 9

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **'Trust Me' - The Fray _:::(Silver and Genesis' Theme 3)_

* * *

The two women headed back down the steps, Genesis in an obviously bad mood, rubbing her still smarting cheek and glasses still noticeably missing from her face. She hadn't had the time to grab them and Silver had silently insisted they both leave immediately, figuring the woman could always go back for the glasses later (assuming they were still living later). As Genesis stalked down the steps beside her Silver was all but surprised to find the woman wasn't grumbling, as was often seen in cartoons. But she figured that was just a silly stereotype...

Silver blinked suddenly as Genesis walked smack into another person, both emitting startled "oof!" sounds and stepping back away from the person they had run into in surprise. As Genesis blinked up at the man he observed the odd women he had (literally) run into.

The man's hair was hidden beneath the dark hood of what seemed to be lower ranking assassins and he wore the shorter robes as well. Upon the belt on his waist were only five throwing knives compared to Altair and Malik's four (two on each side). Five o'clock shadow dotted his chin.

As Silver and Genesis observed the newcomer he did the same to them. The odd clothes unnerved him, so unused to seeing women wearing pants so freely. Not to mention the fierce glare upon the shorter one's face that screamed of aggravation and pent up aggression. It was a look that he was unaccustomed to seeing on a woman's face. And while all these things seemed strange, the man couldn't help his curiosity, though he knew he should take caution.

"Who are you?"

"It's customary to introduce yourself before asking someone her name." Genesis fires back, flinching again as she poked at her bruised cheek. The old man had some power behind his slap.

"Oh, u-uh, right!" he exclaims, blinking at the attitude he had received. It was venomous, but still forceful enough to send the man reeling a little, being so accustomed to timid women. "My name is Kadar A-Sayf."

Silver blinked, recognizing the last name as that of Malik's. Were the two brothers? She didn't bother asking, however, being more the type to blend into the background, away from people. Let the more open Genesis handle the newcomer.

"My name's Genesis, but for simplicity's sake you can call me Genesis." introduces the woman sarcastically. Silver was surprised as Kadar let out a laugh at the rude introduction. It seemed they had finally met a man who wasn't as easily offended as Al Mualim, Malik, and Altair.

"And what of you? What's your name?"

Silver startled, blinking in surprise at Kadar who watched her expectantly underneath the shadows of his hood. She didn't like speaking and dealing with those she didn't know of if she didn't have to and this definitely counted as one of those times...

"I'm... Silver..."

"If it would not be too much trouble, may I ask a question?" Kadar inquires excitedly, looking from Silver to Genesis for an answer.

"Didn't leave me much choice did ya buddy?" Genesis points out though without malice in her voice, to which Kadar chuckles nervously. "Shoot."

"Shoot...?" Kadar inquires slowly, not knowing of the terminology behind such a thing centuries ahead of now.

"It means go ahead, dum-dum." it was now Genesis' turn to snicker at the boy's confusion and even Silver found a bit of enjoyment in the boy's inquiring look. Kadar reminded Silver of an overly excited puppy.

"Oh!" Kadar's cheeks turned pink slightly in embarrassment for but a moment before he plowed on ahead. "If I may inquire about your strange clothes?" Seeing the raised brow of the confident woman [Genesis] Kadar quickly elaborated. "It's just I have never seen a woman wearing pants before! Much less anything as strange as your tunics..."

Genesis picked at the hem of her white jacket with the elaborate black and gray markings about the front of the torso. Beside her Silver busied herself with her hat as if to avoid answering the question herself. "We're from a land far, far away." Genesis paused, turning to look at Silver. "That sounds like the start of a cheesy fairy tale doesn't it?"

Snorting in amusement Silver nodded, "Yeah, it does."

"I see..." Kadar mumbled, wondering just what country allowed women to wear pants.

"It doesn't really help us blend in though..." Silver pointed out logically. If anything they stood out much like sore thumbs and it would be a problem if Al Mualim allowed the two to live (not that Silver had high hopes of that happening after the fiasco that was Genesis and Al Mualim's confrontation).

"Oh!" Genesis turned back to Kadar, lightly smacking the side of her fisted hand into her open palm as the idea struck her. "Kadar!"

"Y-Yes?"

"How'd you like to do us a huge favor?" Genesis smiled. Kadar resisted taking a step back from the suddenly happy female. The smile seemed too out of place for the cocky woman.

"Genesis, you're scaring the poor man."

"Nonsense!"

"What is it?" came his hesitant query.

* * *

"And you say she was able to adequately defend herself against these bandits?" Al Mualim inquired, turning to look out the pane-less window. Below the training ring was in view with two contestants inside training against each other in swordplay. Around the ring were several others, either to cheer, gamble on the winner, or wait for their own turn to enter the fray. At the sides were more Assassins practicing their knife throwing abilities on the dummies set up.

"Yes, Master." Altair answers with a nod. Beside him stood Malik who confirmed this with a nod of his own, though both knew that with his back turned to them Al Mualim wouldn't be able to see the actions.

"It is true." Malik spoke up calmly as he remembered the event. "While nowhere near an expert at fighting, she was able to release the man's grip on her and kill him and another bandit easily enough."

"And what of the other one?" Al Mualim questioned. To be able to figure out what to do with both it was best he know of their abilities now, lest he make a mistake and lose a possible advantage over his enemies...

"That woman shows no potential at fighting," scoffs Altair, remembering how easily Silver had been caught.

"Which is not to say she does not have talent elsewhere." Malik defended. Both women were arguably strange. If Genesis could do something useful in one area than it gained to reason that Silver was the same, only she would be useful to the Brotherhood in other areas.

"And just what talents would those be, Malik?" Altair hisses, rounding on the man. Malik didn't step down.

"Information. Knowledge. Reconnaissance." Malik provided easily. "Not everything is solved with fighting! Information is just as powerful!"

"Enough!" thundered Al Mualim, making a slicing motion through the air to enunciate his point. Both men fell silent immediately, Altair allowing his prepared argument to die at his lips. "It is clear the abilities and talents of these strange women are yet to be fully realized."

"What do you plan, Master?" Altair inquires.

"For the time being they will be on a probationary period of sorts..." Al Mualim decides, mulling over his words before speaking them slowly. "It would be a shame to waste any assets they may yet bring to the table. For the time being they will be watched closely..."

"Yes, Master."

* * *

Nervousness bubbled up in Kadar's chest as he went about this 'favor' for the strange girls he had just met. Informing the man of their predicament of being unable to leave the fortress (due to Al Mualim's orders) but were quite tired of being stared at all of the time wherever they went due to their foreign clothing.

Thus the favor; Kadar heading out to grab them something with specifics in mind. For instance, Silver had merely stated no dresses though Genesis' specifics were more detailed. She demanded a lengthy tunic of sorts with baggy sleeves, something with a white hood, a bolt of white fabric, baggy pants and roughly a yard of red fabric a needle and thread.

What the overly-confident woman had in mind for all of that he had no clue, but he figured he might as well help...

Of course finding all of that was the problem in and of itself. He didn't know where to go to find fabric on its own, nor needle and thread, within Masyaf's marketplace. That was woman's work, after all, and not something Kadar had ever needed knowledge of. This left the poor journeyman to wander the small market, unwilling to ask for help and look like a fool. He had already found something that he figured would suit Silver's specifics and a tunic and pants for Genesis. It was just that damned fabric and thread...

"Hey, boy!" Kadar's gaze jerked to the direction of the man who spoke to him, the voice belonging to that of one of the shopkeepers. On the old shop keep's face curiosity was seen amidst the wrinkles and facial hair.

"Yes, sir?"

"What's you got there, lad? Seem to be a little out of your tastes, if you see what I mean."

"Well, uh-" Kadar stammered glancing down at the bundle of clothes in his arms. This was embarrassing. "These are for two young women, you see-" Before he could say more the old shop keep interrupted him, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Ah, I see! Quite the charmer, you are boy!"

"Th-That's not what it's about!" Kadar stammered again, cheeks growing heated at just what the shopkeeper was implying. All he wanted to do was be helpful.

* * *

"Found out the hard way that you were lost and rendered~," sang Genesis lowly, leaning up against the railing before the tall fortress, elbows resting against it as she gazed up at the structure blandly. It irritated her that she could not see clearly at long distances without her glasses... Beside her Silver watched the Assassins and the trainees below in the training ring curiously. "All alone in the dark forest of your thoughts~."

Genesis stopped blinking once before turning to gaze at Silver. "I just thought of something."

"That must've hurt," snickered Silver lightly, not looking away from the training ring below.

"Ha ha," came the sarcastic and dry retort. "But seriously we just sent Kadar out to buy us clothes..."

"Yeah...?"

"Isn't that like..." she paused glancing around to see if anyone was listening in or close enough to overhear if they so chose to. No one was. "This era's equivalent of sending a man to go buy tampons or pads?"

Silver looked up in thought at this before suddenly burying her face within her arms to muffle her loud laughter at the thought, face turning red from lack of breath. Genesis merely took that as a yes and continued to sing once again.

"Forever following a trail of fear that seems to lead to more dead ends and mysteries~, I'm losing hope of ever solving~ Hey!" she grunted catching the familiar frames between her hands as they soared through the air at her only to glare at the form of Altair as he swept by the duo. "Careful with those! They're fragile!"

Silver blinked, turning slowly to stare at Genesis. "I'm sorry, did you just say 'fra-gee-lay?'"

Genesis chose not to answer as she pushed the glasses back up onto her nose blinking around her contently with a smile on her face as everything became clear once again.

"For someone who seems to prize those strange contraptions you could smile now that you have them back." Malik scoffed as he stalked into view, brow raised at the strange woman who looked at him.

"I am smiling," Genesis answers, that small barely-noticeable smile still in place. Malik nearly called her a liar for it but decided better of it. Some people were just unable to express themselves easily, maybe she was really one of those types of people.

"If you don't mind my asking," Silver gulped as Malik's smoldering gaze turned to her, brow still raised in a silent bid to get her to go on. "What's going to happen to us?"

"You are to be allowed to live," Malik answered ignoring Genesis' scoffing at his choice of wording. She noticeably began to pout, eyes narrowing at the thought of the man who had the nerve to slap her outright across the face. "But one wrong move and you may have that privilege revoked."

"Oh, so living is a privilege now?" Genesis scoffs, ignoring Silver as the other woman attempted to get her to quiet down. "That's cute. You know what? I revoke your privilege to breath!"

"Just ignore her!" Silver placated nervously.

"Best advice I have heard yet," Malik appraised with a nod as Silver blinked in surprise. She honestly hadn't thought that would've worked. "However, there is a condition to you two living..."

"Oh? Am I to be tied and leashed like some damn dog?" Genesis scoffed, arms crossed over her chest.

"Behave!" Silver demanded, giving the woman a light slap to the shoulder. Once more to her surprise, Genesis actually listened turning her gaze away with a small "hmph!" It seemed the day was full of surprises.

"You are to be watched by either myself or Altair," Malik grunted, looking one to enthusiastic over this. "And it is just like the cretin for him to run off leaving me with this work." He sighed before glancing around, as if searching for someone. "Strange..."

"What is?" Silver asked. She had grown accustomed to this man, and when he wasn't in one of his moods he was quite easy to get along with, Silver had found.

"Usually my brother has already found me when I've returned from a mission..."

"Is your brother's name Kadar?" Another raised brow.

"I take it you've met already?"

"Yep!" Genesis pipes up, smirk on her face. "He's totally doing my shopping right now!"


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **'Forever Young' cover by Cash Cash

* * *

Genesis resisted snickering at Malik who rubbed his temples gingerly, eyes shut in thought at what he had just heard. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to lean back against the railing as she watched. Silver sighed.

"You have yet to be here even a day and you are already manipulating those around you?" Malik grunted. It didn't surprise him in the least, his brother was the type who wanted to be helpful. He just hadn't expected him to do this for the girls.

"To make it clear," she [Silver] spoke up, avoiding Malik's gaze as he looked at her. "He did have a choice!"

"That makes it sound like he didn't," Genesis snickered again as Malik sighed dropping his hands to his sides, the usual irritated look upon his face. Genesis pushed off the railing, her own hands at her sides as she did so. "Well, since I get the feeling that you don't much like me-" She received a look that just screamed 'what gave you that idea?' She continued on unabashed. "I'm gonna go bother Altair. It's a win-win for you!"

"How is this a... win... win...?" Malik inquired, puzzling over the term only a little and waiting for Genesis to elaborate on this idea of hers.

"Well, you don't much like me and I don't much care for you (I don't much care for Altair either, but that's beside the point!), so you won't have to deal with me. And you get the satisfaction of knowing I'm bothering the ever-loving crap out of that which you hate. Sounds fun, yes?"

"I've told you that you're an idiot before, yes?" Silver inquired, eyes narrowed in disbelief at this woman's plan. Did she really have no idea of self-preservation in her body?

"Shut up!" came the quick answer, Genesis not looking away from Malik as he mulled over this idea.

"Very well. You can find him down below training with the others." came the answer soon after as the man pointed down the slope in the direction to the training area below. Genesis gave a large grin that held no real joy behind it (which Malik found strange considering the woman's desire to go bother someone on purpose, then again he had been noticing more and more little quirks like this within Genesis through the past few days) and flashed the thumbs up to Malik before making her way down the slope to go find her current target to bother.

This left Silver with Malik, in a (once again to her) awkward silence. She knew she would have to remain within eye sight of this man, it was a given with what Al Mualim's orders had stated. But she didn't know if she'd have to be followed everywhere or if that meant she had to follow him...

This was going to be a long day, she could already tell.

Meanwhile Genesis glanced around the crowds of Assassins, still a little unnerved at how many there were. Being used to small groups of 4-6 at most (any more was rare) to keep from being too suspicious to any potential Templars when traveling between safe houses or on missions. Having so many in one group in her time was a bad move, as if they were found more would die in the resulting fight.

It was just logical to her and she didn't know of it being any other way.

But far be it for her to show this nervousness. Instead Genesis pulled the hood of her white hoodie up over her head (it did nothing to hide her face in shadows as the Assassin's hoods did, being a much to small hood in itself) as if to blend in with the crowds of white and gray covered heads. Not that it did much, her clothes were too strange and most women were not found within the fortress or even around the training area. Thus she accumulated many stares and outright inquiries to one another about the odd woman who paid them no heed.

"She must be foreign."

"Yes, but what country allows women pants?"

"Who is she?"

"I have never seen her around before..."

Genesis pointedly ignored all these still searching for Altair to bother. Not that it helped, with all the hoods (though most were gray, eliminating them from her search). And she despised asking for help - her pride wouldn't allow it, preferring to do things her own way on her own.

"Geez, this is like a more sophisticated version of Where's Waldo." she finally grumbled, eyes narrowing in frustration.

A loud cheering from those closest to the ring drew her gaze towards them before a familiar voice piped up; "You will have to do better than that, novice."

"Hmph!"

Genesis grunted, a dead pan expression adorning her face. "Of course, muscle head would be in the ring where I can't bother him." She heaved a heavy sigh at this, shoulders sagging seemingly in disappointment.

A hand clapped over her shoulder causing Genesis to tense before jerking away and around to glare at the offender. Kadar blinked down at the woman in surprise before chuckling. In his arms he held the bundle of cloth and clothes he had been sent to fetch on request.

"Jumpy, huh?" he grinned. "What are you doing around the ring?"

Genesis blinked, bored at the proceedings. She couldn't see the ring and the fight going on within due to the taller men in the way and she figured it wouldn't go over too well if she attempted to shove her way through them to see. "Was gonna bother Altair, but he's in the ring. And I'm too short to see the fight!"

"Sorry to hear that," Kadar chuckled again, uncertain as to why a woman would want to watch a fight. Wasn't that something only men enjoyed? "If you want I can help you..."

"Nah! I got a better idea!"

"Huh?" Kadar blinked as Genesis moved closer and tapped on the handle to one of the throwing knives sheathed on his belt, grinning up at him.

"Teach me!"

It was a practice she had never learned and had always kind of wanted to within her life. She had always promised herself she would teach herself but life kept getting in the way... Not to mention there was no time for thing such as that once she had been dragged into the war between Assassins and Templars and then kidnapped by the latter. Now was Genesis' chance to learn.

"Why would you want to learn such a thing?" Kadar was genuinely confused. It seemed everything he knew of women to be true was contradicted in this one woman.

Now it was Genesis' turn to blink up at him in confusion. "Well, why would I need a reason to better myself and expand my talents?"

Kadar didn't have an answer for that.

* * *

Silver puzzled over the strange markings in the pages she flipped through idly, not bothering to try to make heads or tails of what they could possibly tell her at the moment. It's not like she'd ever had to learn how to read a foreign language before. Though she didn't know why she couldn't, if the Piece of Eden allowed them to seemingly understand Arabic speech.

But far be it for her to attempt to puzzle out the strange artifact's workings... Better men had and would try.

Around her several of the other hooded scholars shuffled around with books and scrolls in their own hands, or sat upon one of the tables pushed into the corners to read and study in peace. Malik was nearby as well, he having suggested that she might like the books if she could read that was after several minutes of silence after Genesis had run off. Silver had agreed with a nod, not having the courage to speak up now that she was alone with a man she hardly knew (not that she knew Genesis all the much longer, but at least the boisterous female was good for keeping a steady conversation - or argument - flowing to kill awkward silences).

Here she did not escape the strange looks, either, however. The scholars - though more silent in their questions - sill managed to stare as if judging her silently in their minds at her outfitting and standing.

She hoped Kadar hurried with those new clothes, it was getting ridiculous...

Not to mention that awkward silence was back to plague her while she flipped through the pages in various books to study these foreign words. But she didn't know what to say - Silver didn't want to risk looking stupid or anything...

"Am I really that strange looking?" she finally snapped, quietly, however so as not to draw anyone's attention that she did not want.

Malik glanced up and over at Silver, unsure if she had spoken as she was still flipping through the pages of the book in her hands. It was obvious she wasn't really reading it, perhaps she couldn't, though he wasn't sure. These two were capable of strange things after all.

"What do you expect?" came the simple reply, though it held no malice in it as it usually did when he was retorting to Altair. "Just passing by those in Masyaf you surely must have noticed."

And he was right, Silver mused, she had noticed the vast difference in clothing and appearance between her and the women about the area. Her frown deepened.

"That doesn't give others the right to stare," she grumbled after a second of thought, sparing a glance up at Malik and than past him where she spotted one of the scholars doing just that. Malik raised a brow at her glance over his shoulder before turning and spotting the offender. He scowled and the scholar hurried off not wanting to be scolded or start an argument.

Turning back he noticed Silver busied herself with pushing the book she had been looking through back in its proper placement on the shelf and reaching for another to scan through.

"If it bothers you so much than just ignore it."

"It's not that simple." now it was Silver's turn to scowl at that logic. What did he think she was trying to do this entire time? "I hope that Kadar kid comes back with those clothes soon..."

Malik stopped, having turned back to his own studies, blinking once as he glanced up and back over to the woman a blank look adorning his face. "You sent my brother out to fetch you clothes?"

Silver paused, nervousness raking her system at the quiet seriousness in his tone. She bit her lip in thought before turning and giving the man a nervous smile. "Umm... It was Genesis' idea...?"

She watched as Malik placed a hand upon his forehead as if in pain and heaved a heavy sigh. "The both of you are really something else... But perhaps it is for the best that that you get new clothes..."

* * *

"No, no!" Kadar protested, ignoring the looks he was receiving and probably the judgment that many of the others would have for him later over teaching a woman how to throw knives. The bundle of clothing was off to the side, draped over a nearby fence by the dummies made of potato sacks and hay atop logs in the shape of a person and a target over the 'torso' of the dummy. They had drawn a little crowd as Genesis made her attempts to hit the target.

So far, it wasn't ending well.

"What'd I do now?" she snapped, and Kadar flinched slightly at the animosity behind it. Kadar offered a smile and he was glad when she didn't snap again, though a pout did find its way onto her face.

"Like this," Kadar moved, hesitantly. He'd have to move her body to get her into the right throwing position... It was awkward, really. But Genesis had indeed been serious about learning and it had to be done. He moved behind her shifting her hips and widening her stance with the instructions said out loud for her benefit. Kadar then shifted her hand around the knife in the proper position. Around them he could hear the snickers from the other Assassins and he was sure he would be teased later.

Genesis allowed this to happen, not an ounce of awkwardness about it to her. She was aware of the snickers and the taunts already being shared from afar. But if there was one thing she had learned in her life it was that people often thought what they wanted. If you disputed too hard against it they thought you were denying it and if you didn't dispute their claim at all they would figure you had nothing to deny and that they are right.

Let them think what they want. she decided as Kadar moved away quickly after the corrections had been made. Genesis was aware that what had happened was probably a scene used in a lot of romance novels and movies. The thought alone made her giggle a little on the inside.

"So, like this?" she inquired out loud, slowly moving her hand outward with the knife, though not releasing it, merely double checking her throwing movement.

"Yes! Now give it another try," Kadar nodded smiling amicably at Genesis.

So she did. And promptly let out a loud snarl that surprised Kadar when the knife didn't embed blade first into the dummy as it was supposed to. A loud "fuck!" quickly followed the snarl and Kadar held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Now, it isn't something you just pick up easily..."

"It's foolish to teach her anything," came a familiar voice and both Kadar and Genesis turned to see none other than Altair surveying the frustrated woman from beneath his hood.

"Altair!" the reverent pride in Kadar's voice was easy to hear. It was evident the young boy looked up to the more skilled Assassin. Too bad Genesis didn't.

"You're just jealous 'cause I got mad skills!" It should be noted that as she said 'skills' she put the noticeable 'z' sound to the end of it as she grinned at Altair and performed the 'rock on' sign with her hands. Not that anyone in this time would know what she was symbolizing as she did so.

Silence ensued between the trio as the crowd around them either stayed to watch or got back to training and/or watching those training in the ring go at it. The breeze that passed by helped to cool Altair down after his sparring match of sorts with the other more skilled Assassins and the cocky novices. He had assumed that Malik was watching both women but it seemed like Genesis had somehow weaseled her way into bothering him.

"What are you doing, woman?" he finally asked, blinking once unimpressed. A familiar pout made its way onto her face as her eyes narrowed. Clearly he was ruining her fun. Good, he reasoned.

"Kill joy."

"I repeat; what are you doing here?"

"Kadar was being a sweetie and teaching me something new while I waited on you, muscle head."

"That was wasted time on your part," Altair answers swiftly without much thought behind the retort as he turned to glance at Malik's sibling. Kadar gave a bashful grin and a shrug as if to say "oh well." Genesis didn't take it as kindly, however.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you are a waste of time."

Genesis' eyes narrowed and her lips tightened into a thin line as she glared death and daggers at Altair who stood, waiting for her response. Something he had learned over the course of the journey to Masyaf was that she nearly always had a response... But she too had learned that, he also nearly always had a response ready to fire back with a moment's notice.

Genesis made her move.

Several minutes later Malik and Silver had joined the group, eyeing the two and wondering just what had happened. Genesis was caught in Altair's grasp having tried to prove the man wrong and charging at him. Somehow he had turned the tables around on her and she wasn't quite sure how.

Altair blinked up lazily at the two as if accusing them for this nuisance. In his hand he held Genesis wrist tightly so she could flail about as easily, while his right arm was around her neck in something akin to a choke hold, though it wasn't nearly tight enough a hold to do any damage. Instead it was just tight enough to be uncomfortable for the woman and to keep her still.

Around them several bystanders stood pointing and whispering in amusement.

"Let go!" she growled.

"Not until you behave."

"Fuck you."

Silver heaved a sigh and rubbed her forehead at this idiocy. She had to wonder if Genesis was just designed to cause trouble. Meanwhile Malik turned to his little brother; "What happened here?"

"To be honest, I am not really sure of that myself, brother." Kadar answered unsurely.

Malik heaved another sigh at the answer.


	12. Chapter 11

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **'Forever Young' cover by Cash Cash

* * *

Days began to pass a little more quickly for the girls as they got used to the vast time difference and culture shock. No more were they able to grow distracted by electronics or the like. It was at this time that the two discovered a shared hobby of video games before they had come to the past via magical artifact. Instead the girls had to go about finding new past times within the fortress (they were still forbidden to leave).

For the first day Silver took to wandering about the area, especially examining the decidedly sunnier back where several beautiful women were often found. Silver speculated why they were there and grew red within the face at her conclusion, though she did enjoy the area. Petals from flowers and the trees flew about in the breeze, provided it was strong enough, and gave the area a more ethereal feel.

The woman also took to asking about the time period from Malik, who decidedly took charge in watching over her, the two getting along rather well. Not that she gave away the fact that she was from a different time period altogether, no, rather she would ask about 'current' events and how people went about performing different tasks.

Silver had even been debating on whether to try and learn Arabic writing as well.

It was all so fascinating to her.

Silver was also thankful for the clothes. A pair of dark gray pants, cinched at the ankles and some simple slipper-like shoes. Her white tunic was tucked in neatly with a yellow sash. The sleeves were outlined in a thick gold color to match the sash and had a slit up the side halfway up to her elbow. She wore a long jacket over this, the bottom of it being a white coloring, while the top was short sleeved and dark gray with an outline for red around it to separate the white and gray.

The new clothes lessened the staring, though she kept her hat and the fact that she was still wearing pants gave a few odd looks in her direction before she had become just another daily view.

Genesis on the other hand had disappeared for a good chunk of the morning on that first day, locked within the room provided to her and Silver near the other girls who helped cook and perform other menial tasks typical of the female in this time. The only time she would wander out was to snatch some bread from the kitchen when the servant girls weren't looking (she was often scolded and run out of the kitchen for partaking of food as they cooked - snatching vegetables from boiling pots and pieces of fruit set out for the next meal of the day) before disappearing back into the room again, without a word as to what she was up to.

Silver hadn't bothered to ask why she was locked in their room or what she was up to, figuring the woman was moping or something of the sort.

In fact, the only part of her clothing Kadar had gotten that she was wearing that morning had been the pants. It wasn't until that afternoon that they all found out what she had been up to all that morning.

"How's it look?" she had asked, causing Malik and Silver to turn and see Genesis' garb as she had held out her arms and twirled for the full effect.

She had sewed together a sleeveless jacket of sorts that trailed down to about her mid-shin, with two tails. A red strip followed the jacket's opening from the neckline down and was held open loosely by two red straps that formed an 'X' over the chest. Her tunic had, too, been modified to include a large hood that shaded her face from view with a baggy scarf-like neckline. This was held closed with two bits of the red clothe and a button.

That was about the only feminine hobby she seemed to have, however, as afterwards she had taken to spending much of her time down in the training area or off in a secluded area of the fortress to perform various exercises without being stared at by others. But for the most part she stayed down in the arena, bothering Altair between activities and attempting to get the hang of throwing knives.

This was of course when she didn't take time to wander around herself to observe the area she was staying in and bothering Kadar. In fact the two became fast friends, the both of them being rather open and were often seen training together as well.

Now, however, the two were bothering Silver. Malik had been training and thus Silver had taken to hanging around the training area, off to the side and by herself, glancing around at everyone and shuffling her feet every now and again. This was where the two had found her.

"I don't want to," Silver sighed, a pout forming on her face as the two didn't get it. She began to fiddle with the ring on her finger, spinning it around with her thumb. No one had noticed it, the sleeves of her tunic acting as they had on her hoodie and often keeping it out of view.

"You're no fun," grunted Genesis, eyes narrowing at Silver. Silver crossed her arms instead.

"Genesis, maybe it would be best if we left her alone..." Kadar pointed out wisely. He had wanted to make the woman feel more welcome, having only seen her with Malik all of the time and not associating with anyone else. It was as if she was secluding herself.

"No! She's always trailing after Malik like a lost sheep. I think he's getting a little annoyed."

Silver glanced away slightly at this accusation. It was true, though. It did seem to be bothering Malik more and more as he witnessed Genesis wandering around on her own and Silver instead clung to his side each day.

"F... Fine," she grunted, not liking it one bit. But she didn't want to annoy the one person she was coming to know in this time. "What do you have in mind?

"Have you been up there yet?" Genesis asks pointing up. Silver paled and began to shake her head vigorously.

"Oh, c'mon! You gotta beat your fear eventually!"

"Uhm... Genesis, maybe you're being a little insensitive?" Kadar points out. Genesis stops, her fist still pumped up high into the sky, an act she had done as she had spoken of beating fears. She blinked at Kadar.

"Oh? You think?" Kadar chuckled nervously, wondering if Genesis really didn't realize just how forceful she could be at times.

Off in the distance a group of three watched Genesis and Kadar lead the way to their destination with Silver trailing along a little nervously. Often times the two in the lead would turn to bring the woman back into their conversation as she trailed into silence. They were too far away to hear the topic of conversation.

"Look at that," the obvious leader spat, gesturing to the trio as they walked off and towards the ladder that led up onto the higher portions of the building. It was obvious, even from this distance, that Silver was nervous. "Acting as if they're one of us!"

"What do you mean, Ghufran?" inquired the boy to his left, dark eyes wide as he blinked up at the shaggy Assassin. Ghufran had been studiously observing the two new women since they had arrived and it was obvious that he didn't agree with their attitudes and overall existence.

The young journeyman figured Ghufran meant that the were not one of the Assassins as Genesis seemed to act like all of the time, what with training with the males when she could. The answer came as a bit of a shock to the young boy.

"They surely cannot be human!" came the venomous reply.

"Why do you say that, sir?"

"Shadi, so naive," chuckled the third man. Shadi grunted and glared at him.

"Shut up, Jalal! I am not! And what does he mean?"

"I mean, little Shadi-" Ghufran began, ignoring the "Not little!" retort as he plowed on. "The two are not as they appear. No human woman acts as such. No... surely they must be demons in disguise..."

"Wha...?"

"You did not seem when they had first arrived, dressed in strange garb..." Jalal answers for the young boy as Ghufran receded back into his thoughts. His arm rested atop the hilt of his sword as he turned to Shadi. "Not only that, the taller one has a strange object speaking of undead..."

"The undead?"

"Indeed. I overheard one of the scholars inquiring as to what the object on her strange hat said. She replied with 'You're lucky. Zombies eat people with brains.' Tell me, Shadi. What human associates with the undead as such?"

"I guess only demons would..." Shadi admits reluctantly, turning away and watching where the trio had disappeared to.

* * *

Genesis groaned, leaning against the side of the wall as she looked out over Masyaf from their area. They hadn't gone all the way up, instead only on the first tier that the ladder took them to. Kadar had been afraid that if they had gone any higher than the already pale Silver might not take it well.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I hate being cooped up!"

"Well maybe eventually you'll be able to go out," Kadar attempts to placate before turning to Silver who had her back to the wall and sat upon the ground, her knees up to her chest so she couldn't see how far they were from the ground. "Are you doing alright?"

"Fine!" she grumbled grouchily. Silver really did not enjoy being taken out of her comfort zone and this situation definitely applied. But deep down she really did want to get rid of her fear of heights...

But she didn't think it was working so far...

Kadar gave another nervous chuckle at the hostility. A breeze, one of hundreds, passed by ruffling their clothing and hair in the ensuing silence. Genesis turned slightly to stare down, unimpressed, at Silver for several long seconds as she debated on what to do next.

"You know you're kinda pathetic," she finally stated, a small smirk in place on her face. Silver glared up at her, ready to retort before seeing the lack of seriousness behind the taunt. Well, far be it for Silver to let someone get away with picking on her!

"And you're really short," she grunted, trying to fight the smile on her face.

Genesis gave a derisive snort. "Means I can get into areas you can't. I figure it's best to be either really tall or really short?"

"Oh? Why is that?" Silver chuckled. Genesis was only roughly two inches shorter than her so it was clear she was milking the taunt for all it was worth.

"Because if you're really tall no one fucks with you. Where areas if you're really short you can get into places others can't... Like vents!"

"What are vents?" Kadar spoke up, the foreign word strange to him. He spoke cautiously as if afraid to break the amiable air that was finally surrounding the two women but his curiosity was just too much to contain.

He watched as the two women blinked at each other before beginning to giggle, Silver stifling hers with a hand and Genesis burying her face within her arms, her shoulders shaking with laughter still. Kadar allowed a smile to grace his lips though he was still confused as to what a vent was.

"You're pretty cute when you're confused, Kadar!" Genesis finally stated, turning to grin at the man over her shoulder. Kadar's face turned a brilliant pink coloring at the compliment and he blinked in surprise.

"Oh... U-Uhm... Thank you?"

Silver, unwilling to allow this fun to end, joined in. "And look! He's blushing! Even cuter!"

"I am not..." grumbled Kadar, not knowing how to react to the open flirting he was receiving from the women. They chuckled at his lack of a good response and he heaved a sigh before smiling again.

"Hey! Buddy! Dance with me!" grinned Genesis, finally pushing away from the wall and turning to Kadar, grasping his hands in hers. His face became inflamed again.

"W-What?"

"Look at his face!" grinned Silver, pointing at the red-faced boy enthusiastically.

"I can't dance! And besides there is no music..." Kadar wasn't so sure he enjoyed being the brunt of the joke anymore.

"Nonsense! No one truly knows how to dance!" Genesis protested, grinning and beginning to move Kadar and herself around, dancing to whatever beat she had in her head.

"I do not believe you," pouted Kadar, and he didn't. This was one of the times where he just couldn't wrap his mind around Genesis' odd logic. If no one truly knew how to dance than how did those pretty belly dancers do it?

"Than I'll sing!"

"Oh boy. Here comes the terrible off pitch voice again!" Silver taunts with a chuckle.

None the less Genesis began to sing, off pitch as Silver had predicted, as she continued to get Kadar to dance with her, not letting him out of hit and keeping a hold of his hands to do so. "So let us die young or let us live forever! With nights like these that we will always remember! Girl, we're gonna shake this town tonight!"

And to their surprise even the usually timid Silver began to join in the song, clapping her hands to the beat.

"'Cause I wanna be forever young, I wanna be forever young! Do you really wanna live forever? Forever and ever?"

Kadar eventually began to grin back again, finding the fun in it after several long seconds of this charade. He decided that he did indeed like these eccentric women, despite what many of the other Assassins said.

* * *

Al Mualim puzzled over this latest conundrum as he watched the many Assassins within his order from that pane-less window. His hands were clasped behind his back as he mused, the pigeons cooing softly in the silence that surrounded him.

He must get to that artifact before Robert de Sable. If Robert and the Templars got their hands on it...

No, he would not allow that to happen.

It was just a matter of who to send on the mission to retrieve it. He already knew he would send his best, Altair. But who else?

Abbas was out. While he had healed up from his latest injury Al Mualim did not wish to send him on such an important mission so soon after the healing process had finished. Perhaps Malik would do, one of his other best Assassins...

Al Mualim's eyes roved over the grounds and tiers of the fortress as if searching. His eyes stopped on a strange sight on the higher tier, overlooking the path down to Masyaf. What seemed to be two people dancing.

He had no doubt who it was.

A smirk found it's way to his lips as he mentally finished preparing his team to send for the artifact. Perhaps now would be a good time to test the validity of her skills on a mission as well as the skills of one of his own younger Assassins.

* * *

The two had gone through several songs as Genesis continued to get Kadar to dance with her and Silver keeping beat for the poor boy to keep something to dance to. While he was used to it now he was still aware of the few Assassins who could see them watching and possibly jesting with each other about the scenario.

That was before another Assassin stepped close to stop and watch as if politely waiting for them to stop.

Instead he was merely waiting to gather one of the trio's attention. Once he saw Kadar look over and stop his antics the man spoke up;

"Kadar A-Sayf and Genesis Redgrave, the Master wishes to speak with you."

The joy left the trio at these words as silence ensued for the following minute. "Did he say why?" Kadar inquires. Genesis' eyes narrowed in thought. Why did Al Mualim wish to see her? Maybe she was in trouble again, for harassing some of the other Assassins and being a general trouble maker. But if that was the case than why was Kadar asked to come as well?

Silver's brow furrowed as she glanced between the three in confusion. She, too, didn't know what to make of this.

"He did not. Only that he wishes to see you both immediately along with Altair Ibin-La'Ahad and Malik A-Sayf." The Assassin turned gesturing to them to get along and not make the Master wait any longer than he had to. Genesis and Kadar shared a brief glance to Silver before getting to it. Back down the ladder and up the slope into the dimly-lit fortress, up the next two sets of staircases and in front of Al Mualim who was before his desk as usual.

Altair and Malik were already there. The two of them grew curious as to why Genesis was called as well. Seeing their looks she spared a shrug to let them know that she, too, hadn't the slightest of clues.

"Good, you have all arrived." Al Mualim nods, his good eye roving over his chosen four. "I have a mission for you all."

"Than why is that nuisance here?" Altair dares to speak up, shooting an accusing glare to Genesis. She glared back, having to glance around Malik as she did so.

"If what you claim of the bandit attack is true than this is as good a chance as any to see what she is capable of as well as Kadar's capabilities." Al Mualim explains simply, turning to pace a few steps as he did. "If she proves herself capable she can be an asset to us in the future."

"Master, would it really be wise to allow a woman to become an Assassin?" Malik challenges hesitantly. It wasn't like him to speak against Al Mualim but he was truly curious.

"But of course. Who would suspect a woman?"

The argument was dropped at that though it didn't ease anyone's mind. Altair and Malik not believing what their Master was saying, Kadar was left in confusion, and Genesis' distrust of the man from his slap he gave her on their first meeting only grew. She really did not like this man.

"What is our mission, Master?" Kadar inquires almost timidly.

"You are to head to Jerusalem, to Solomon's Temple. Your mission objective is there." Al Mualim turned to pick up a rolled up parchment, tied together with a scrap of leather before handing it to Malik.

Genesis turned her head slightly to watch, catching Malik's confused expression at the scroll as Al Mualim turned away. Apparently having their mission written down and handed to them to read later was not the normal custom, and the distrust in her for the man only grew.

"You will leave in the morning and ride fast to Jerusalem. Pack your supplies with today's remaining daylight. Our enemies, the Templars are also after that which I send you for."

Those cryptic words left the group with a sense of foreboding as they departed to do just that, with Malik to look over the scroll and see just what they were to do.


	13. Chapter 12

**********Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **'Synapse' by Furries in a Blender ft. Entity & Lawlzy

* * *

Genesis glared at the back of Malik and Altair's heads as they road out of Masyaf at a rather even pace upon their steeds the next day. Kadar rode closely beside her behind the two higher ranked Assassins. He, too, was a little miffed, though not nearly as much as Genesis was.

The two had attempted to find out just what the mission was from Kadar's brother... It had ended less then enthusiastically and with neither any wiser as to just what they were supposed to be doing once they reached Jerusalem.

Genesis had been in many events in her life where not having the information she needed ended up screwing her over (one of which ended up with her capture under Abstergo's hands). A few even left a scar here and there and it left the woman wary of events where she did not have adequate information.

It didn't help her mood that she was expected to go along with the mission anyways, without questioning Al Mualim's authority. She had been in a situation that called for such once upon a time, as well, and it hadn't ended happily for her. In fact the memory left a bad taste in her mouth and Genesis often avoided recalling it altogether.

The travel so far was quiet, the horses loaded up in that silence with the provisions needed for the foursome with a few glares exchanged between Genesis and Altair, Malik and Altair, and Genesis and Malik while Kadar was left uneasy at these exchanges. No word was expressed as they left, either, leaving Silver behind under Al Mualim and the other Assassins' watch while Malik and Altair were away.

In the fortress Silver shifted nervously from foot to foot feeling more skittish than usual. With everyone she spoke to - Malik, Genesis, and Kadar - gone on a mission she didn't know what to do. Silver didn't want to speak to the other Assassins, they all seemed too imposing or just didn't seem to want to have anything to do with her. Neither of those boded well for the woman, she was sure of that.

So instead she remained in the room all that morning, her original clothing splayed over her bed as she looked over them. She really did miss wearing that hoodie, it was one of her favorites... In her hands she had her wallet, eyeing the Abstergo ID, protected in the cloth and plastic. Silver knew that the only one in this time that had any idea of her ties to the Templars was Genesis. Silver had worried for the last few days since meeting the Assassins that the woman would let the cat out of the bag on her.

Lord knew she would've done so if the roles were reversed, after all. And it would've given way to most of the suspicion on Genesis' part as well, Silver was sure of it. So why hadn't that woman done so? Did Genesis have a weird case of Stockholm Syndrome? Silver shook her head at the entertaining thought before moving onto her brooding.

She pulled the laminated card out of its placement in her musings. It would only be a matter of time before she was found out if she kept this... Though she knew that no one knew of Abstergo in this era, it wouldn't clear up any suspicion if she kept such a strange item on her as the ID card in question. Not to mention the Templar ring, the memento she couldn't bring to throw away just yet...

Silver knew she would have to, and it's not like she wanted anything to do with the Templars anyways. Her family had been held against her, their lives at stake if she hadn't cooperated with Abstergo in the distant future. Now she had nothing to lord over her head to make her work for them in this time...

Tossing the wallet and the ID back on her bed she got up from the uncomfortable thing (it was a wonder what you took for granted. Having a good mattress was one of those things!). She would get some air, wander around in the back garden and maybe visit the library of tomes once more to see if she could glean some insight while gazing at the Arabic symbols...

Silver figured she'd muse over what to do about her predicament later, when she was feeling less stressed.

* * *

Shadi swallowed the lump within his throat at seeing the deranged smirk spread over Ghufran's lips. The man was just a little strange, though he was strong and the boy respected that; it was why Ghufran was the one he looked to for his training regime so often over the other Assassins.

"Perfect..."

"What's perfect, Ghufran?" Shadi questioned, head tilting to the side slightly in his confusion. He didn't see what was delighting the older man so much. Ghufran merely seemed to be staring out into the hallway where most of the women's quarters were. The ones that worked within the fortress, feeding the Assassins and cleaning and such.

"The demon's alone!"

Shadi's brow furrowed, the delight seemed to grow more in Ghufran, almost as if the man was shivering in anticipation. Silence permeated the air around the duo before the younger boy asked, "But isn't that other woman that left a demon, too?"

"Yes, of course!" Ghufran muttered distractedly with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But she is strong. Always training... Always getting stronger despite what others say and do to her... This one is weak. Without the other to watch out for her or that idiot A-Sayf boy to watch her we can prove her for what she is!"

"Oh... Okay..." Shadi blinked his dark eyes again, confusion still lining his expression though he figured it was best not to question his mentor. Ghufran's thought processes often left the boy's head spinning if he tried to puzzle them out for too long and he had learned not to do so long ago. "And how are we going to do that, sir?"

"First we need evidence..."

"And how do we do that, sir?" Shadi blinked slowly once again, a little confused about the man's apparent excitement. Was it really that great to reveal a so-called demon? Shadi didn't know, but apparently he would find out soon enough if his mentor's plan carried out properly.

"She had many strange items on her. If we can gather these..."

Shadi was quickly sent off to go fetch Jalal to help with this plan by an impatient Ghufran after that statement. Scurrying around the fortress took a bit of time, and he didn't find Jalal right away. He checked high and low and no sign of the other man that made up their trio, he wasn't even in the back garden flirting with the pretty women back there. He did find Silver within the library of books once again as he ran out of the garden, however, which seemed to be one of her usual haunts.

Shadi stopped and stared, he couldn't help it. He hadn't actually seen the stranger up close yet. While she was in more recognizable garb it was clearly that of a man's and this caused Shadi to wonder about the woman yet again. Especially with that strange hat still atop her head.

What would possess a woman to wear men's clothes?

Feeling eyes on her Silver's body tensed and her grip on the book tightened as well. She hated being stared at... immensely. While the stares had lessened in the past few days there were still several who seemed dead set on doing nothing but staring. Slowly she turned her head to gaze over her shoulder to see who it was this time around attempting to be discreet about it.

A tanned boy stood there, who couldn't be any older than thirteen, a gray hood up over his head that blocked Silver from being able to get a good look at his facial features. A hood that was similar to the type that Kadar wore.

Now it was Shadi's turn to tense as he noticed Silver shift. He couldn't be sure but it looked as if the woman was staring over her shoulder at him. It was hard to tell due to the shadows from her hat that were cast over her face. Deciding to be cautious Shadi turned and hurried out of the area and out the perpetually opened front doors to go and continue his search of Jalal.

Silver blinked, watching the boy's path as he left her sight. A silence rang around her, unbroken as it had been before except for the shuffle of the scholar's feet and the occasional turning of a page. She blinked again before shrugging and turning back to her book. "Strange kid." she finally deduced in an attempt to ignore her own paranoia. It was off the charts now that everyone she knew in this time was off on a mission and she didn't like it.

* * *

"Answer me, damnit!" demanded Genesis, gesturing angrily at the two Assassins.

"Please! Calm down!" Kadar pleaded, holding out a hand in a placating manner in his attempt. It didn't work as Genesis growled, glaring at the stoic duo.

"Heeeeey! Stop ignoring me!" Nothing. Genesis nearly pouted, venomous glare still in place and aimed at Malik and Altair. She had been attempting to find out just what the mission was again, though she had gone about it in a clever way to begin with the plan back fired as Malik saw right through it and she was reduced to shouting at the two once again in her irritation.

Genesis knew it wouldn't work if she yelled but it made her feel better. Though she hated talking too much, even if she did so often and she soon quieted down after beginning her shouting. She didn't like people asking her "what's wrong?" constantly growing up whenever she had grown quiet and so, to fill that void of silence when she was often thinking or sorting out her emotions, she instead chose to babble and hide her actual feelings until she was alone and could properly brood without being interrupted. It was a tedious play, and destructive to her emotional health often resulting in an emotional break down here and there, but old habits die hard...

"Better question!" she piped up once more and the fact that she wasn't yelling again caused the two to actually pay attention. "How am I supposed to defend myself? None of you gave me any sort of weapon!"

"We were worried you might impale yourself on it if we gave one to you." Altair snorted derisively. Another vicious growl ripped its way out of Genesis' throat and the glare returned.

"Why you!"

"Genesis, careful!" Kadar scolded lightly ready to move and pull Genesis back up on her steed if he could. She was attempting to hit Altair atop the horse and it wasn't working in her favor. "Don't fall off the horse!"

"I'm not gonna-" _'Thud!'_

Altair begin to actually laugh as Genesis glared, laying upon the ground as Balthier continued to trot ahead for several feet before stopping and glancing back as if accusing his rider of stupidity. Malik smirked and gave a light chuckle at her predicament and even Kadar had to muffle a laugh.

"Nuisance." chided Altair.

"Yeah, yeah..." grunted Genesis pushing herself back up and glaring at Altair, scowl in place on her own face this time around. "Laugh it up!"

* * *

Jalal ripped through the room methodically. It was the very room shared by the two women, Silver and Genesis. Night would soon descend and he had to hurry and make it to the meal laid out for everyone in the fortress or else seem suspicious. Ghufran and Shadi had gone to the evening meal so as not to rouse as much suspicion and left this task of finding evidence to Jalal.

The room was actually rather messy already. Scraps of cloth lay upon the floor in one corner, sewing items strewn upon a table messily with no organization. Upon one of the beds Jalal had found Silver's original clothing and had searched through the pockets, not finding anything of interest. If she did have any items on her they must have been transferred onto her person as she changed clothing...

In another corner were Genesis' original clothing, though the white jacket with the strange mechanism designed to open and close it was hung up and off the floor to prevent the white fabric from getting dirtied. Jalal, in a bid of immaturity, threw it the ground. Let the demon worry about favored clothes being dirty.

Only one object of interest was found in his search.

A strange item made of some toughened material and holding many foreign cards with strange letters upon them. Taking a few out he observed them. A card of black with strange white and red markings upon it made of hard to bend material, another of white and silver markings... Several cards of this same material were in here, declaring different things Jalal deduced, if the difference in markings on each one were any indication. One in particular caught his eye, however.

It was a strange green-blue coloring with her painting on it (at least Jalal thought it a painting, at the very least it was the most realistic depiction of a person he had ever seen) with a strange triangle logo on it made of three white bars. While another of these cards had her painting on it, this one just seemed more important, it had even already been out of the strange contraption and on the bed as if Silver had been viewing it earlier.

With a smirk Jalal slid these items into one of the many pouches upon his leather belt and turned to leave the room quickly to rejoin the evening meal. If anyone asked he was just caught up in training off by himself once again. It had happened before and thus no one would have reason to disbelieve him.

* * *

Night was descending over the Kingdom and with it the group stopped for the night before it had happened to gather fire wood while there was still light to see. A small amount of food (small to Genesis, anyways, who was still not accustomed to eating so little again) was passed around as the fire was set up and the packs taken from the horses so they, too, would be able to rest in the night.

After the meal Genesis finally received her own weaponry. While Malik had been prepared to wait until the actual mission to give them to her (he still didn't trust her completely, despite that Eagle Vision claimed her to be an ally) they had been attacked by a small group of wandering guards in the Kingdom and she had been defenseless until she had stolen a sword from a fallen guard.

While he didn't much like her he didn't wish to explain to Al Mualim upon arriving in Masyaf after the mission that Genesis had died due to something he could have prevented.

Kadar held the pauldrons, greaves, and belt as Malik helped the woman strap on the leather armor that would protect her forearms. Genesis held up the baggy sleeves of the tunic as Malik did this watching him strap them on for future reference, a smug smirk on her face.

"Don't get cocky." He grunted finishing up and moving away as Kadar handed her the belt with a dagger and several throwing knives already in their sheaths. She could figure out how to put it on herself.

"Don't worry yourself!" she grinned, waving a hand at him nonchalantly and even Altair raised a brow at this behavior. "It's not like I'm gonna shank you in your sleep!"

"Shank...?" Altair's curiosity was peaked, he couldn't help himself as he glanced up to get a better view of the woman over the flames and even Kadar and Malik looked curious as to what this word was.

Genesis blinked, pausing after getting the leather belt properly strapped on. "Shank, you know..." she paused to make a stabbing motion with her hand. "Verb! It's what you do!"


	14. Chapter 13

**********Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **'Never Free' by Day Minus 7::: _(Silver's Theme 2)_

* * *

The next day provided Silver trashing the small room in a bid to find her wallet and the corresponding items within it. She hadn't noticed it missing the night before or even the (already messily strewn about) items thrown about in even more of a ramshackle way, having trudged up in the night after wandering around in the darkness only when she was tired enough to fall asleep on top of the suspicious stares from those on night watch as most people went to bed when the sun descended below the horizon in this time.

Now her heart raced as she worried where it could've gone off to now. If it were in the wrong hands it could work against her easily. The truth would put Al Mualim and his Assassins against her not to mention make her seem touched in the head. And she was a horrible liar, stuttering and shuffling about whenever she tried - and she hated lying on top if it all unless she absolutely had to.

Silver stopped, the blanket of her bed clutched in her hand, having been the last thing she had looked under. Biting her lip anxiously her dark eyes roved the room, searching for the lost object in the mess she had made. She still couldn't find it.

"Not good..." she grumbled out finally and sighed. Now she had a mess to clean up. Since Kadar, Malik, and Genesis had left with Altair nothing seemed to be going her way on top of all of the strangeness that seemed to happen.

With a sigh Silver moved to go place the scratchy wool blanket back upon her mattress, moving to clean up the mess. She had a feeling today would be a long day.

The morning meal went by as they usually did, with everyone sitting in their usual spots and Silver away from the rest of them off on her own. At what seemed to be a head table sat, per usual, Al Mualim and the highest ranked Assassins within the order as well, leaving the rest of the order to sit around at the scattered tables in the large room in a rather willy-nilly fashion.

Before they had left, Malik and Altair had been sitting at the table with Al Mualim as well, now their usual seats were left empty, showing the room that they were gone from Masyaf as of the moment. Since she couldn't bother Altair or Malik during meals Genesis and Kadar usually came and kept Silver company. She missed that now, stuck in a bubble of silence as everyone else around her seemed to have someone to chat to as they ate.

While she wasn't what one would call a 'social butterfly' Silver still enjoyed having conversations with others, too.

"Don't look so lonely, honey."

Silver jerked blinking up at another woman. Silver had seen the girl about in the fortress when she wasn't in the kitchens and often times this woman was the one that helped chase Genesis out of the kitchens when she was snatching bits of food during the day.

The woman smiled at the bewildered deer-in-the-headlights look upon Silver's face and gave a little chuckle. "Um... Who are you?" Silver finally questioned, than remembered Genesis' default answer for anyone who asked her name before giving their own and quickly corrected herself. "I'm Silver Reinherst..."

"My name is Kareema. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Silver's skittishness eased only a little now that she knew this woman's name. Kareema tucked a strand of black hair that had come loose from her low ponytail back behind her ear.

"If you ever feel lonely you can always come find me, sweetheart."

"Oh... Okay, thanks..." Silver blinks and gave a small unsure smile back as Kareema moved away to continue her duties in bringing out any other food for those who wanted seconds or thirds, empty plates in her hand that she had been taking back to the kitchen when she had spotted Silver at an empty table all on her own.

The rest of the day continued much like the last, with Silver off on her own once again. While she kept Kareema's offer in the back of her mind, she wasn't sure about going to speak to someone she still didn't really know when she was so alone now. Instead she spent the rest of her morning in the gardens, reveling in the sunlight that managed to shine back there and make the world seem a little brighter.

True she still felt the occasional stare while she was there, though she couldn't find the source and she wrote it off as merely paranoia. It wasn't uncommon, after all, when someone was uneasy for the mind to make it feel like the person was experiencing something that wasn't there.

From inside the fortress, Ghufran stood beside one of the windows, leaning against the sill and staring intently at the foreigner he was convinced was a demon. Jalal had gotten one of the many strange objects from her, which actually held even more, similar objects, inside of it, which now resided in the older Assassin's belt, safe from prying eyes until he was ready to provide the evidence to Al Mualim.

Idly scratching at his chin, feeling the stubble under his calloused fingers, he continued to watch for any telltale sign as Silver lounged about in the gardens below. His eyes narrowed and he stopped as a flash of gold caught his eye from Silver's hand. From his view he couldn't see exactly what it was she was holding but it was clear it wasn't natural.

"More evidence, hmmm?" Ghufran mumbles under his breath, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. This was just too easy. All he needed now were the items still in her possession to solidify his case. "This is almost too easy to be much fun, little demon-girl..."

Several days passed after that initial sighting of the strange object on Silver's person by Ghufran and each one continued much the same way. Silver wandered around her usual haunts, including adding a new one to her list. She began to watch the Assassins train from atop the slope, at a distance so as to keep from being stared at as well.

Over the course of these days she continued to glance at her pocket watch here and there out of habit. Not knowing what time it was killed her and she couldn't seem to find any sort of a sun dial anywhere to make due with. So instead, Silver took to risking it and glancing at the piece of technology that shouldn't exist just yet every now and again.

During meals Kareema also took it upon herself to cheer up Silver as she passed by to do her job and Silver found that she rather enjoyed the woman's company a little more each time. Every now and again the two would even run into each other in the hallways and greet each other amiably and have a small conversation before Kareema had to rush off to perform some other chore or another.

Every now and again she spotted the same boy she had caught staring at her before as well, though she still had no real facial features to place to him, having only caught glimpses before. Silver tried not to think too much about it lest she become paranoid again.

Silver grunted as something slammed into her from behind and she stumbled forward, placing a hand to the stone wall to steady her balance. "S-Sorry!" Blinking she turned to look at the offender to see that very same boy she had caught glimpses of before straightening up after stopping his own tumble to the floor.

Now she could see his features clearly and even he was glancing up to examine her own face curiously. The boy had lighter eyes than Silver was accustomed to seeing anymore and shaggy dark hair that looked as if it needed a trim as it brushed over his eyes.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Silver, what's your name?" she finally inquired, breaking the long silence that stretched out between the two. It was an uncomfortable and awkward one at that... The very kind of silence Silver detested.

"I-I'm Shadi..." he seemed nervous as he shuffled his feet around and continued to stare at her. He was supposed to pickpocket whatever he could and rush off without being seen or noticed but he had tripped over his own foot (one of the reasons he had yet to be promoted to a higher rank were these occasional blunders) and smashed into her. While he did manage to snatch something from her pockets that felt rounded like the object Ghufran had described she had he wasn't sure if it was the same item or not. He would have to find out later when he reported back to the Ghufran and Jalal.

Now that he had been seen this close up he might as well examine the strange woman in this time before he left. It's not it would do any more damage, after all.

"Hey, why so nervous?" Silver gave a chuckle, though it sounded forced to her. "It's not like I bite or anything!"

She could have sworn she noticed Shadi tense at this joke though she couldn't see why and she had no proof of it. Instead Silver merely brushed this to the side to muse over later if it bothered her that much after the fact.

"I-I know!" came the quick reply and Shadi hurried to relax his form. Was this just a lie? He didn't know though Silver looked just as nervous as he was, though he didn't know why she would be. Shadi gave a strained grin. "Can I ask you a question...?"

"You just did," Silver jested once more and Shadi flinched. She felt a little sorry for the boy. He seemed so high strung right now. So, Silver continued in a much gentler tone, "Go ahead, I'll answer the best I can."

"Where are you from?" came the slow answer, as if Shadi was mulling over his words as he spoke them, watching her face for any lie. Silver was quick to remember the lie that Genesis had fed Al Mualim. She didn't want to contradict that bluff, after all.

"Across the ocean. From a little place called Parm." Silver answered quickly, and she forced herself not to wince at how quickly she had said it. To her ears it didn't seem natural. Though surprisingly Shadi nodded though his brow furrowed; to him Silver didn't seem to be lying and even after talking to her she didn't seem like a demon, either.

"I see..." Shadi mulled over his next words. "What was it like there? Did you have many friends? What of your family?"

Silver blinked in surprise and held up her hands. "Whoa there! You only said you had a question to ask!"

"O-Oh! Right! I'm sorry!"

"It's no problem," Silver reassured, chuckling nervously as the boy's demeanor shifted back from curious to nervous once again. "Let's see... It was a... quaint... place," that was obviously a lie, as there was no Parm. But if there was, Silver imagined it would be quaint - "and calm, too. I didn't have many friends but I was the kid who was always off on her own... My family..."

She stopped here and Shadi tilted his head, examining as her features grew sadder and softer at the memory. "Did something happen to them?" he asked after another stretch of silence.

A sad smile spread over Silver's lips and she gave a forced chuckle. "I guess you can say that."

Maybe it would be best not to mention this conversation to Ghufran however, unless it really became necessary to. He had a lot to think about with those answers he had received. If she was a demon why would she look so sad over the prospect of family members?

Silver was left to watch Shadi hurry away before shrugging and moving on with her life, not yet noticing her missing possession.

* * *

"Genesis, please don't argue with Malik again!" Kadar pleaded, though he knew it wouldn't do any good if the idea was already stuck in the woman's head. It was clear that Altair wasn't going to tell Genesis anything she wanted to know unless he had to so she had taken to bothering Malik about mission details for the past few days on their travel. Kadar, who was a little nervous about working with the man he looked up to couldn't bring himself to ask Altair what the mission was just yet, either.

Kadar watched at the familiar narrowing of her eyes behind those strange contraption she had explained were glasses (when asked Kadar learned they aided her in seeing things more clearly from far away and had promptly tried them on himself only to grow dizzy and sickened to the point of hurriedly ripping them away from his face to give back to the woman) and the usual accompaniment of a huff soon followed.

"Why should I?" she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's been four days and we still don't know what we're doing! Do you know how disastrous that can be? We could be rushing into something headlong that could get us killed if we don't know what we're supposed to be doing!"

Kadar thought on this for a second before nodding slightly. It was still strange to hear a woman speaking of a mission as such, having grown up with the idea that women were not about fighting or even allowed to. "I understand this, but it does no good to be at each other's throats!"

Genesis glared and Kadar was worried that she was preparing another argument to her case. Thus he was surprised when she heaved a large sigh and her shoulders sagged at that logic. "Okay, you've got me there."

"So you can see reason..." Altair's scoff entered the conversation as he passed by to check upon his steed, Talimar. The group had paused to give the horses time to rest, having pushed them hard that day to prevent a fight so close to Jerusalem and possibly blowing their cover to the Templars when they had been identified as Assassins by a more savvy soldier on the path. The horses ran at break neck speed to lose the soldier and his fellow platoon members in order to prevent the fight that would've inevitably happened otherwise.

Kadar heaved a sigh of his own at this behavior of his idol as Genesis's glare returned, this time aimed at Altair.

"No one asked you!"

"If you need to tell yourself that."

"And here I was having a lovely conversation with Kadar until you talked and ruined it."

"More like him pleading with you not to make a fool of yourself once again."

Kadar placed a hand to his face and sighed once again as Genesis took it upon herself to give a very rude gesture with the middle finger to Altair in response. It noticeably didn't improve anything and only further soured Altair's mood as well.

Before the argument could go on Genesis turned to Kadar with a smile on her face. "So, how about you continue teaching me to throw knives and I can teach you to draw again!" Kadar's mood brightened again. He had noticed the woman doodling on scraps of parchment and obviously snatched ink and quill by firelight at night and had wanted to learn as well. It was a talent his brother had inherited (and liked to pursue in map making) though Kadar never had a natural hand at it himself.

When asked Genesis had offered to help the boy try and learn to draw, as she called her drawings 'cartoons', though he had no idea what a 'cartoon' actually was.

"Of course! I would love to!"

* * *

Shadi watched as Ghufran and Jalal observed the object he had pick pocketed from Silver. It was rounded, as he had noted when he had taken it but it wasn't the golden object Ghufran originally wanted though it was still of interest as well. The top was red and the bottom white with a black line separating the white and the red colors. A small square in the center of the circle was an odd gray color and seemed to be the main focus of the object. Below it were three raised circles as well in the white bottom part.

"What is this strange mechanism...?" Jalal mutters distractedly as Ghufran moved it round and round in his hands.

"It must be important if that demon decided to keep it with her at all times!" Ghufran decided, an odd gleam in his eye as he observed the round object.

Shadi blinked and tilted his head to the side. The two kept saying how bad Silver was, how much of a demon she really was, but when he had run into her earlier she had seemed nice enough (though he was debating on that "bite" remark). Instead he stood by silently, hands loosely fisted at his sides as he watched the duo amidst his own personal musing.

If the older men noticed his lack of curiosity they didn't say anything.

"What?" inquired Jalal jerking back in surprise after having depressed the largest of the three raised white circles. The device made a unique 'beep' sound and images appeared upon the little square in the center. Some type of number was in the bottom right corner with a line above it in the left side above the line was a scenery made of black and gray and to the right of this taking up most of the screen was a strange black bird with a hat-like protrusion from its head.

"What is it?" Shadi piped up, his curiosity building as from where he was standing he couldn't see what was upon the little screen that had caused Jalal to jump away in surprise. Instead he was left to stand on tip toes and crane his neck in an attempt to see it.

"Crow."

Shadi blinked at this simple answer and his head tilted to the side in confusion. "Wha...?"

"Crow!" Ghufran reiterated turning the device around for Shadi to witness what he was seeing. Indeed, what seemed to be a crow sat upon the screen. Shadi knew of the stories of how crows and other such black birds were usually a witch's familiar. But was this really proof enough? Shadi didn't know and he wasn't sure, either. "Only a witch would have a demon like this!"

"Then this contraption must be used to keep it contained..." Jalal observed.

"But..." Shadi began, one eyebrow raised in thought. "Weren't you saying earlier she was a demon not a witch...?"

Off in another part of the fortress Silver was patting herself down in frustration looking for the little device she had wanted to glimpse at, if only for reminiscing over the age of electronics she hailed from.

"Where'd it go?" she muttered, irritation lining her voice as she pouted. "Where's my Poke-walker?"


	15. Chapter 14

**********Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs.

**Chapter Theme: **'Will' from the Pandora Hearts OST

* * *

Halfway through the next day, a little after the afternoon meal, Silver was madly tearing the room apart. In fact by the time she was finished it looked as if World War I had gone on inside the tiny room itself. She had even debated pulling apart the lumpy mattresses to look for the new lost item of hers though she realized just how crazy that idea had been and had shrugged it off, though the mattresses were lying upon the floor as well at odd angles. One of them was even sagging against the wall where she had thrown it in her search.

Now she stood amidst this mess, hands on her hips as her eyes roved the room in search of the golden pocket watch she treasured. It wasn't something she'd just misplace, especially in this time zone. Something like that was beyond the masses comprehension.

No, she didn't misplace it she was sure of it. Before the afternoon meal she had even snuck a peak at the time before stuffing it back in her pocket securely and double checking that it was there while she ate and chatted here and there with Kareema.

Silver mulled over this, running over who she had seen around her after that before she had noticed it missing. It was a little difficult, what with nearly everyone's faces hidden beneath hood and shadow. She had learned to rely on body language and demeanor to pick out who was who in this place after a few days of trying other methods.

Though she did remember seeing that Shadi kid around her around the time her treasured item had gone missing. Thinking back on it that boy had been around her a lot in just the past few days, as if he had a sudden interest in her. But if he was interested because of her being a foreigner he was behind the times, though Silver doubted this was it.

No, it had to have something to do with all of her missing objects. First the wallet and the objects inside of it, then her Pokewalker and now her watch.

Silver crossed her arms over her chest as she debated on what her options were in this situation. She could just ignore it and hope for the best or that her items would turn up again or she could find out what was going on, if anything. She shook her head.

"No way am I letting this go on!" she grumbled spinning around and hurrying out of the room to begin her investigation. She would worry about the mess she had made at a later time.

Speed walking down the hallways she was off to find the first person she would ask for any information they had. The tail of her long coat waved elegantly in the air behind her as she moved as well as the sash's ends and two black tails upon the front of the coat. However she paid it no mind as she was lost in thought.

Who's stealing my things? I haven't done anything to anger anyone nor have I made myself out as an enemy. she mused as she went, heading for the kitchens and ignoring the quick glances she received for her unusually swift pace. She really could not figure out just why her stuff was going missing. Was there something she wasn't seeing? Well, hopefully a bit of digging for information would fix that.

"Kareema!" The call caused a few of the women cleaning up or making sure they had enough food rations for the next meal to glance up to witness Silver glancing about for the woman in question before going back to their tasks.

"What is it?" came the soft and kind voice of the woman she sought. And there she was wiping pots and dishes dry as she watched Silver hurry over to her.

"I have a question or two, if you wouldn't mind." Silver informed, holding her hands up in the silent inquiry if Kareema could spare her a few minutes. Nodding she set the dish and the rag she was using down upon the counter before turning fully to Silver.

"I don't see why not."

Silver quickly explained about her missing items to her companion, by passing a few details here and there merely explaining that they were strange in this land but considered normal back in her home (which technically wasn't a lie) and that she needed them back though she had no idea who could've taken them. "You wouldn't happen to know of anyone who dislikes me that much or anything would you?"

Thinking over this conundrum Kareema brought her fisted hand up to her chin gazing off to the side as she did so. It was a pose she often took when deep in thought, and Silver had witnessed it several times in the few days she'd known the woman.

After what seemed like hours Kareema finally spoke up; "I haven't heard anything lately..." Silver's shoulders sagged. "But it's not often that these things happen. Maybe asking some of the other girls would help..."

Silver heaved a sigh and shook her head. "That's alright. Thanks anyways."

"Sorry, I couldn't be of much help, dear!" Kareema called after Silver as she hurried away. Silver smiled over her shoulder and waved back to show she heard before she left the kitchens. So her first attempt didn't warrant any information. So where else could she find it?

She ran through her options as she stopped, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot in a steady rhythm. Pick pocketing was definitely out of the question, why would she need to steal from others to find her own stolen objects? And she highly doubted any evidence would be sitting in someone's pockets that she would run into, anyways. Besides, she'd never pick pocketed before and Silver was absolutely sure that she'd be caught if she attempted it.

And getting caught for something like that would just make her look like an enemy to everyone.

She had already asked the only person she really knew for any information and that had warranted nothing. Besides, Silver was sure if she went around asking everybody for information then word would get to the perpetrator either through word of mouth or just by eavesdropping and they would be better prepared to stay under her radar.

No, that left only one other option. Silver would have to eavesdrop. Nodding to herself she began to walk off to find a conversation to eavesdrop on, though she had to slow her pace somewhat so as not to rouse any suspicion her way.

* * *

"How long until we reach Jerusalem, brother?" Kadar calls out to break the silence. It was uncomfortable to him, even Genesis had gotten quiet as if she had run out of things to talk about or just didn't want to partake in a conversation. It had happened before, where the two would be having a nice conversation or debate and then she would just get quiet without a warning as if deep in thought. Kadar shrugged it off as just another one of the woman's quirks, thinking nothing of it.

"We should reach it by night fall." Malik answered without turning to look at his younger brother upon his steed. Now that they were closer he was finding himself mulling over Al Mualim's decision to send his brother and the woman with them. With the contents in the parchment the mission was secretive and very important, so why send a woman who's full skills were unknown and his brother who was but a journeyman?

It made no sense to the man. Whether Altair shared these thoughts he neither knew nor cared. So long as the fool didn't mess with the mission and break the tenants of their creed, Malik wouldn't bother with him.

Kadar was the one he was the most worried about, being the elder brother it came with the territory. While the boy had made leaps and bounds in his training there was no way he was ready for the possible danger in this mission, especially since it seemed like the object they were to bring back was just as important to the Templars as it was to Al Mualim...

Genesis, however, was another problem in and of herself. On the journey back to Jerusalem where they had met she was proving to be a more serious person than she let on to be. Why she put on a mask so often, choosing to talk when she didn't wish to or to act so recklessly, so outgoing, and even without a second thought Malik didn't know. Perhaps something in her past happened to cause her to act as such?

All-in-all Malik did not believe this to be the best balanced team for the mission at hand. Though he was merely following orders and it was far above him to question those orders. In the end, he just had to believe that Al Mualim knew best and that whatever he was doing there must be a reason for it.

Genesis' voice brought him out of his brooding; "So now that we're so close, mind telling Kadar and myself just what we're doing?" The tone in her voice didn't hold the usually happy-go-lucky one it had before. Clearly she was taking this seriously now. Well, at least she could take it seriously, Malik reasoned.

"You need not worry about it." He argued back instead.

Genesis glared at the man's back and Malik could feel the stare, though he refused to acknowledge it. Already he knew it would only provoke her into arguing back, and while she held a few valid points he still didn't want them to know. He couldn't explain it, but something about him wanted to protect his little brother from this mission and strangely he reasoned that if Kadar didn't know what they were doing he wouldn't get hurt.

Malik also knew that if Genesis knew what the mission was she'd tell Kadar.

Now it was Genesis' turn to feel irritation bubbling up in her chest at this answer. It was one that she often got over the past few days, even when she had caught Malik alone to ask him. Her grip on the reigns tightened and she had to force herself to calm down. She remembered Silver telling her that horses were sensitive to their riders' emotions and she didn't want to upset Balthier.

And what of Altair?

He was attempting to ignore this conversation once again as he mentally prepared himself for what was to come. There was no doubt in his mind that Templars would be there to fight in their bid to nab the object in question and Altair did love a good fight.

"Yes, I do need to worry about it!" Genesis finally argued back after mulling over whether it was a good idea to or not. "While you two are all filled in Kadar and I are running into this blind!"

"It is none of your concern, novice!"

"It is every bit my concern! Without knowing what we're doing Kadar or I could end up fatally injured or worse!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"I call bull shit! You can't protect or save everyone! When you do you just wind up getting everyone killed!"

"Enough!" Altair finally snapped, his patience at an end and turning slightly upon Talimar to glare at the two. He received two heated glares right back, it was obvious this argument was not going to die down any time soon even if someone else butted into it.

"I call bull shit on you, too!" Genesis snapped, eyeing the man up and down with a brow raised. It was clear she had been brooding a lot on this subject. "You act as if you're the leader of this little group and as a leader you fail! You're supposed to make sure everyone knows what's going on, no one is injured or sick, all that jazz! You're just worried about yourself!"

"Mind your tongue!" demanded Altair, slowing Talimar down so that he was right beside her own so that his rider could glare at the shorter woman.

She glared back unabashed and clearly not intimidated by him. "Or what?" she challenged. "You gonna do something about it, mister man?"

"I have half a mind to!"

Kadar's worried gaze shifted from his new friend to that of his idol as the argument continued. Nerves had been running high over the last few days as they traveled and it looked as if they had now snapped. Kadar knew that if this continued any teamwork they might need during the mission (whatever it was) would be lacking and strained and for a mission that seemed so important that wasn't a good thing.

"Can't we work something out?" he timidly spoke up. He went ignored as the argument raged on with each person believing they were in the right and the other two were wrong.

* * *

Silver listened in, straining her ears to catch each and every tidbit she could around her. Most of her attempts over the last few hours had gone to waste. Most people were only talking about training, missions, possible future missions, how they killed a Templar or their target, and some were even talking about sex (which made the poor girl flush a vibrant red and hurry away in embarrassment at the details she overhead).

"What do you mean?" She restrained herself from leaning closer to hear this as she pretended to watch the duo training within the ring separated from the crowds by a small, easily-jump-able, wooden fence.

"I mean haven't you noticed Ghufran and Jalal acting strangely?"

"I tend to ignore the pair as they are as strange as one can be!" A pause before this man continued with a chuckle; "Except for maybe those foreigners!" Silver resisted a scowl at this accusation. Luckily the conversing pair were behind her and would not notice the expression if she had.

"Supposedly the two have taken a strange obsession to the little foreigner still around here..." this statement was lowered to such an extent that Silver almost missed it within the sudden influx of cheering and taunts around them.

"How so?"

"I overheard them saying many strange things about the girl. Many accusations."

Another loud influx of cheering erupted and Silver shut her eyes in irritation as she lost what else the two were saying. In this cacophony of sound it seemed the two had deemed it a good time to lower their volume once again and now it was near impossible to hear what they spoke of other than the quiet whisperings that they were indeed still speaking.

With a frustrated grunt Silver pushed her way out of the crowd and away from the ring, musing over what she had just heard, her gaze lowered to the ground in thought.

From off in the distance Shadi watched Silver trudging away from the crowd, gaze averted to the ground and her features hidden due to the brim of her hat. He had been watching her from afar for the last few hours she had been performing her own investigation within the fortress. She was lucky Ghufran and Jalal were out and about in Masyaf at the moment or something bad probably would've happened to her.

He had been debating on helping her, but if word got back to Ghufran or Jalal that would be disastrous to himself as well. Shadi had to find a way to help her without incriminating himself. After the talk he had with her Shadi was sure she wasn't a bad person - even if she did prove to be strange.

Shadi's expression brightened underneath the hood as he finally thought of a way to help her. He rushed over to her as she began to make her way up the large slope.

Silver blinked and turned as hurried footsteps grew louder and in her direction. She watched as a familiar younger boy stopped in front of her with a wide smile upon his face as if proud of himself over something. "Aren't you, uh..." She blinked realized she didn't remember the boy's name. She was bad at names, after all.

"Shadi!" he grunted, a pout on his face and he looked crushed that the woman hadn't remembered his name.

"Oh, right! Sorry..." She gave him an apologetic smile and Shadi nodded, clearly not bothered by it too much as he accepted it without a hassle. "So, what's up, little man?"

Shadi perked up a more determined expression on his face; "Just remember, those who are close are always watching!" and with that the boy turned and hurried away as if not willing to be caught speaking to her.

Silver blinked in confusion. "Those close...? Who is that supposed to be?" Her head titled to the side in confusion and her brow furrowed. Looked like she had more to puzzle over.

* * *

Entering into Jerusalem hadn't been a large problem and this time there was no need for Genesis to cause a riot to allow them to sneak past without a second glance from the guards. Instead an unusually large group of monks had allowed the foursome to blend with them and enter the gates with them. If the guards noticed the weapons on their bodies they paid it no mind.

The bureau was easily located and inside the group went, one by one and met with the very same old man Genesis had seen when she had been thrown into this time.

"Well look at who we have here." the old man grunted, a hand on the counter as he eyed the foursome. "I am to assume you will begin your mission at first light tomorrow then?"

True, in the time they had reached Jerusalem the sky had grown dark and most of the city's residents had retreated inside. Even now the old Rafiq had lit a few candles to see by as he must have been expecting their arrival. Genesis had no doubt that Al Mualim had sent word of their mission via pigeon, though if this man knew the details of the mission she couldn't guess.

"Correct." grunted Altair, though irritation still laced his voice. The fight had eventually died down, however the trio involved still did not see eye-to-eye with one another. It was more than a little stressful for poor Kadar who only wanted them all to get along.

"Then rest. There is food on the table if you are hungry," the man's eyes stopped on the shortest of the group and an amused smile made its way onto his face. "Well if it isn't the little devil-girl, I thought the message had been joking with me!"

"I'll have you kno-!" she didn't get to finish as Altair slammed a hand over her mouth. With a frustrated grunt she crossed her arms over her chest and glared.

"She has merely proven to be a nuisance," he explains and Genesis' eyes narrow in irritation. "She will probably only be best as a decoy."

Genesis debated on biting down on his hand then thought better of it for the moment.


	16. Chapter 15

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs that appear.

**Chapter Theme: **'I Dare You' by Shinedown _:::(Genesis' Theme 2)_

* * *

__

"H... Hey, are you still mad?" Kadar asked grinning sheepishly over at Genesis. The two were stuck in the bureau as Altair and Malik went out to glean any information they could for this mission. Of course, since neither knew what the mission was that left the two stuck doing nothing while Altair and Malik were out working.

Of course Genesis had been in quite a rage, pacing back and forth wildly like some caged lioness. As she had done this her fists had been clenched at her sides and she had glared viciously at anything and everything, especially if it had moved.

Now, however she sat off in the corner, knees drawn up to her chest and her hands resting atop her knees as she glared, once again, at anything and everything.

"No," she grunted and Kadar flinched. It was obvious she was. Her whole form seemed to shake with the emotion and she had closed her eyes in a bid to calm herself down, though her teeth were clenched tightly and her grip on her knees had tightened considerably when he had asked. "But I will be if you ask that a fourth time, Kadar!"

"Y... Yes, ma'am!" Kadar sheepishly chuckled, a little worried now that that was said aloud.

Genesis was pondering over something in her rage, however. Technically she was an Assassin in this time now, she was on a mission Al Mualim had sent her on himself. Didn't that mean that technically she could go out and conduct investigations herself now that the rafiq had told them where the best areas of information would be?

She believed so.

A mischievous expression formed over her face as she eyed the way up and out of the bureau.

* * *

Silver mused over many things that morning though mostly of Shadi's warning the day before. "Those close...?" she grumbled, staring up at the sky outside the window of her room. She didn't want to be disturbed while she thought this over, after all. "But there are a lot of people 'close.'" she finished, frustration merely growing in her chest as she was no closer to whatever answer was hidden in the cryptic statement.

After several minutes of attempting to puzzle this riddle out she grunted and made her way out of the room in irritation. She was no good at riddles. Even the most simplistic of riddles could leave her head spinning for days even if the answer was right in front of her face. This cryptic message was no different.

So maybe some fresh air would help. And maybe she would be able to see just who was 'close' and always watching.

* * *

Genesis had made it up out of the bureau without much of a hassle, though Kadar had argued that she should stay as it was Malik and Altair's orders that they do so. This had brought the old Rafiq out to inspect just why Kadar was worked up. His advice? To get any information she could glean and not to get lost or killed.

While she figured she was going to get an ear full from Malik and maybe even Altair she didn't particularly care. It seemed as if the Rafiq agreed with her logic that she, too, was technically an Assassin, though his parting words left her to believe he had little faith in her abilities.

That was irritating but it wasn't something she wanted to argue about. If that's what he thought who was she to change that? And even if she did argue back about it he would probably think she was getting up in arms over it because it was truth.

So let him think that as she went about the mission. The way she saw it at least she was taking initiative.

Wandering Jerusalem's streets on her own was a little awkward not knowing the streets very well if at all, especially considering the vast amounts of crowds. Genesis wasn't one for crowds, she hated being caught up in them with no real personal space, but experience told her that it was easiest to eavesdrop while in the throes of a crowd where one was less likely to be noticed.

So, this was what Genesis did, forcing her way into the crowds, and while she still drew the occasional stare she was overall ignored. It helped that her new clothes fit with the times rather than her original ones and for that she was grateful. It also helped that the baggy coat and the large hood hid her identity well.

Now all she needed to do was find some information that might be worth something... That was easier said than done, especially since she was essentially working blind here.

"I think you are ripping me off!"

"This is the finest quality material you will ever find-"

"No! You are not to run off from my side, little one!"

"Did you hear about-"

The morning continued much in this fashion as the sun rose higher in the sky. The occasional beggar would be found, tugging at anyone's clothes who were nearest and asking for "just a few coins!" At one point Genesis had been caught up in this and had had a heck of a time trying to convince the beggar she had nothing to give.

During the rest of the time, however, Genesis continued to wander about eavesdropping on those around her on the off chance that she would hear anything important. Nothing so far had reached her ears that held any importance to her and she had begun to grow bored.

If she knew what she was searching for she'd be more inclined to pay attention. However, her mind began to drift instead, occupying insults aimed at Malik and Altair for not giving her any valuable information. At this rate something bad was sure to happen to the group, Genesis knew it.

But it's not like they would really listen if she stated this.

And so boredom dawned on the woman as she looked around for something to possibly occupy her time and net her some good results in the process. This caused her to aimlessly wander the streets farther and farther away from the bureau, not even aware of where she was anymore in Jerusalem. It probably wouldn't have helped even if she had a map either, for she knew not which area of Jerusalem she was in as well.

"He-Help!"

"Hmm?" Genesis began searching around the street for the muffled sound, but the source was not in her sight at the moment. She listened, standing in place and straining her ears to catch the sounds once again.

"Why won't anybody help me?"

There! Genesis mentally noted, glancing at he nearby alleyway before rushing to it and to the corner to spot the source of the commotion. She stood there examining the situation without giving herself away just yet. An older man garbed in a simple tunic that reached to his ankles was being forcefully pushed from one man to the other as the guards around him jested and jeered at him.

In front of the group glaring around at the few passersby that were around was a fourth guard, his arms crossed over his armored chest menacingly.

"Shut up, you old fool! No one here will help you!"

"Oh!"

Genesis' eyes narrowed at the treatment the old man was going through. It's not like he could adequately defend himself at his age, much less against armed guards. Then again, it's not like she could keep up against four armed guards herself either with just blades. Oh, how she missed her 9mm now.

Turning away from the corner she glanced around looking for something that may help her before an idea ran through her mind. It was rather risky and she may injure herself but... wasn't that the part that made it worth doing?

She hurriedly climbed atop the nearest cart, balancing on the edge of the hay cart as she reached up to pull herself up onto the lowest part of the roof. She had to scramble up onto it, having to heave her body up and over, using her feet trying to find nonexistent footholds to use to help boost her up. After nearly a minute of struggling she was up and moving in a crouch over to the edge where the old man was being harassed and abused by guards. She didn't want to stand and possibly cast a shadow below that would alert them to where she was at, after all.

She retrieved the dagger from her belt, gripping it in a reverse grip so that the blade ran along her forearm as she held it ready to attack.

Genesis quickly jumped from the roof after a moment of planning, the first guard, literally, did not know what hit him as she landed upon him, sinking the blade into his torso, having used her vambrace-protected forearm to brace the dull edge of the blade against her arm as her weight was placed upon the blade to further add to the damage.

"What the?"

"You will not get away!"

"You will pay for this, heretic!"

Genesis stood stepping away from the dying man, his blood beginning to pool around him in the dirt as she held up a hand almost as if attempting to placate the remain trio. "Hey, hey! It's not my fault you're harassing old men!"

"Get her!"

The first of the guards lunged, slashing his sword downwards at her. Genesis merely had to sidestep to avoid it, though she very nearly tripped over the felled guard as she did so. The next guard moved around her, attempting to box her in. Genesis hopped around him, keeping her back from being pressed against a wall where she would be unable to dodge.

It seemed all of the opponents were taking this cautiously. Well, that was no good, Genesis was going to have to fix that.

Leaning forward, a smirk on her face she beckoned the trio of guards to come at her with her free hand before clapping her hand against her other still holding onto the dagger. "C'mon! C'mon!"

Apparently this act of silently insulting them as dogs enraged the leader of the group (the one that had been standing guard) as he was the one to attack next with a frustrated cry. Genesis hurriedly hopped away from the swing barely avoiding becoming a victim to the blade before she lunged forth herself to stab the dagger down into the man's back. She tugged at it, having a bit of difficulty ripping it back out before kicking the man away from her.

That had to have hurt, no doubt.

"Who's next?" she cried out arrogantly, grinning at the other two who refused to back down. The old man was cowering next to the wall of the building, hiding his eyes, not wanting to see just what his savior was doing to these men.

* * *

Ghufran's fist clenched around the red and white object that fit within his palm perfectly, hidden there from sight. There was no doubt in his mind that Silver was a witch or a demon now. But to finish his pile of evidence he needed that pin on her odd hat. But she was never seen without it, and it was in an impossible place to casually snatch it from her.

No doubt these three objects he already had would prove she was more than just a foreigner to Al Mualim, but he wanted as much evidence as he could possibly get.

True, her color within Eagle Vision was beginning to fade from purple to more of a blue but Ghufran's mind had no trouble reasoning out that this was the product of some sort of witchcraft. A spell used to deceive Assassins!

He would get that pin somehow to present it to Al Mualim. It was just a matter of how and when.

* * *

The old man straightened up, lowering his arms from his head as he glanced around in confusion. Silence had permeated the air for several minutes, though he had been too afraid to open his eyes and see what had gone on. The two corpses on the ground made him sick and he gulped down the lump in his throat as he averted his gaze from them.

Instead he took to searching for his savior, he would like to thank the strange woman.

"Oh, good! You're okay."

Startled the man jumped turning to gaze at the alleyway where the hooded woman was leaning out from smiling at him. "You're not hurt, right? I was afraid those other two guards would come back and harass you again when they couldn't catch me."

"No..." Blinking the old man finally remembered just what it was he wanted to do. "Thank you for your kindness, young lady. I will do anything to repay such a deed!"

"Is that right?" Genesis' eyes lit up and she moved fully out of the alleyway clapping her hands together lightly as she smiled at the man. "You'll help me then?"

"Of course. Merely ask it and I shall do my best, young lady."

"This is great! I've been running into dead ends all day, you see?" Genesis chattered with a small grin. "Do you know anything strange or interesting happening at Solomon's Temple recently? You see, I have business there..."

"Solomon's Temple?" The old man blinked down at the shorter woman as she watched him eagerly. "What would a young lady like you have to do at such a place?"

"Top secret."

"I... I see." The old man stopped, rubbing his chin as he thought over what he knew of the Temple in recent days. "I hear many rumors of the Knights Templar being there, searching for something though no one knows of what."

"Oh, I see." While Genesis kept the grin on her face and thanked the man for his repayment she couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. This information left her no closer to knowing just what she was going to be doing on this mission than before.

She left, continuing her search until night fall when she realized she had grown lost within Jerusalem's streets. Thankfully Malik had been the one to come and fetch her, dragging her by the arm back to the bureau at that time. Genesis merely ignored his mutterings and insults, still too busy trying to figure out just what the mission was.

And besides her stomach was growling at her and she was ready for a good meal before going to sleep for the night. No doubt they would get an early start to the Temple in the morning.


	17. Chapter 16

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs that appear.

**Chapter Theme: **'Future Destination' by MGD Sound Team

* * *

A soft grunt of pain filled the dark tunnel as Altair easily stabbed the hidden blade strapped to his wrist into the old lookout's jugular. He stood smoothly allowing the blade to slide back into its sheath as the old man's body dropped to the ground with a soft 'thud', blood pooling around the body as the man lay dying and unable to cry for help.

"Fool!" cried Malik, glaring at the high-ranking Assassin who merely turned and quirked an eyebrow at his comrade as if to ask 'what?' "He was an innocent!"

"And he was working for the enemy," Altair argues easily in a moment's notice. His eyes flitted to Genesis and Kadar who came to stand beside Malik. His gaze lingered on Genesis the longest, who had her hands planted on her hips and a sour expression on her face beneath the hood. She and Kadar still had no idea as to what the mission was and it was making her very frustrated as they were now on the mission.

Altair waited for Genesis to chastise him and call him an idiot, however she remained silent after Kadar had praised Altair for his kill and it was Malik who did the chastising;

"Even so, you have broken a tenant of our creed!"

"Than what would you have done?"

"I would not have taken a life. I would have found an alternative!"

"And yet I am your superior, in both title and ability."

Malik huffed moving past Altair, and scouting ahead, his anger rising within the pit of his chest at the obstinate man. This left Kadar, Genesis and Altair around the man's corpse as Kadar cleared his throat nervously;

"So... what is the mission... My brother would say nothing about it..." he finally spoke up, as Altair had made a move to follow after Malik. He stopped, looking rather irritated - he had nearly forgotten that Kadar and Genesis didn't know what they were supposed to be doing.

"The Master believes the Templars have found something beneath the Temple mount."

"Treasure?" Kadar inquires, eyes alight at this mystery.

"I do not know. All that matters is that the Master considers it important."

"Oh, isn't this lovely." scoffed Genesis drawing both pairs of eyes to her. "A Master who selectively divulges information that could be useful."

"What do you know of it, girl?" Altair scoffed back, advancing on her though she remained un-intimidated. Kadar grew worried once more.

"I know a lot more than you'd like to think, bastard." And with those words Genesis moved to follow after Malik. With the person he was arguing with gone Altair had no choice but to follow after as well.

Kadar hurried after them, wanting to keep up and prove himself on this mission.

Over several wooden beams instead of wasting time in climbing down and then back up in what looked like large pits which stood in their way, though it was a quick obstacle to pass. Genesis was noticeably the slowest in this aspect, having to stop and steady her balance on each beam before being able to hop to the next one unlike Altair and Kadar who were able to do so easily, remaining upon each beam for but a second or two.

Malik waited for the trio just up ahead, not wanting to rush head first without the rest of the group with him, in case something went amiss and he needed help. Altair was quick to take the lead as Malik rejoined the group, and Malik grunted lowly in his throat at this.

Just around the bend the trio watched, disdainfully in Malik and Genesis' cases, as Altair disposed of another look out. In this case, they wouldn't argue over it, the man was wearing the Templar crest and chain mail. He was obviously an enemy.

Into the next chamber the group stopped. This area was large, towering high above them the ceiling of the chamber was lost in shadows. Around them scaffolding held the dirt and rock up, to keep from crushing anyone who was traversing around the area. The group stood at the entrance they had just came from, just enough room for the foursome to crowd around the edges and gaze about.

In the far wall, Malik was quick to spot something golden, glimmering in the torch lights below. "The Ark... of the Covenant!"

"Please, that's just an old fairy tale." Altair scoffed rudely, causing Malik to turn his glare back to the man.

"Oh?" Malik inquired, a brow raised incredulously at Altair as Kadar watched, as usual, in the background. "Than what do you propose it is?"

"You know I heard once of rumors that the Templars were originally digging here for treasure left here by Jews in the Year 70..." Genesis pipes up, hands on her hips and a rather content look on her face. Simultaneously that look also screamed, 'I dare you to keep this argument up.'

Naturally, Altair opened his mouth to scoff at her next, before Malik shushed any and all further conversation with his next statement; "I hear someone coming!"

The group crowded to the edge, Altair tensing at the close proximity of everyone so close to him. In truth Genesis was also a little uncomfortable, though it was a necessity for the group to be able to see who was coming.

The voices that Malik had first begun to hear drew closer until the group they belonged to finally entered into the chamber below them.

"Robert de Sable!" Altair scoffed in a hush, his fists clenching. "His life is mine!"

"No! We were asked to retrieve the treasure and deal with Robert only if necessary." Malik counters, glaring once more at Altair.

"He stands between us and it. I'd say it was necessary."

"Discretion, Altair!"

"You mean 'cowardice.' That man is our greatest enemy and here we have a chance to be rid of him!"

"You have already broken two tenants of our creed, and now you would break the third! 'Do not compromise the Brotherhood.'"

"I am your superior! In both title and ability... You should know better than to question me." And with that Altair turned away, heading to and down the ladder in his goal to confront Robert de Sable.

"He would pull rank, huh?" Genesis sighs before following after with Malik, and soon Kadar. Even if they didn't agree with Altair's actions it would be wrong to leave an ally on his own if he needed help... Even if it was in a mistake he had made himself...

"Hold, Templars!" Altair orders as he advances to the group of four. The Templars spun around from the table they were crowded around, tensed and ready to battle this Assassin off if need be. "You are not the only ones with business here."

"Ah!" the bald Templar, who Genesis could only assume was this Robert de Sable, stated, a sneer over his face as the trio stepped up beside Altair. "Well, this explains my missing man. And what is it you want?"

Seeing Altair tense, his stance spreading out slightly Genesis hissed at him; "You're an idiot. You're stupid. Don't fucking do it."

Of course her words went unheeded as Altair answered Robert, "Blood."

And just after this word was spoken Altair lunged, with both Malik and Genesis jumping after him. Malik managed to grab the man's hand, though his grip wasn't strong enough to keep a hold of him and Altair slipped right out of his grasp. Genesis had managed to grab a handful of Altair's belt though she, too, lost her grip and Altair's lunge followed through, only to be stopped by Robert.

Robert held Altair at his wrist with the blade, keeping the lethal weapon away from his neck, his other hand fisted into Altair's cowl, keeping the man at bay. This didn't stop Altair from still attempting to drive the hidden blade into Robert's throat, however as Robert sneered down at him. "You know not the things in which you meddle, Assassin!"

As Robert spoke, the Templars at his side had begun to reach for their swords, advancing towards Malik, Kadar, and Genesis. This caused the remaining three Assassins to reach for their own weapons of choice and to drop into their fighting stances as well.

"I spare you only so that you may deliver a message to your 'Master.'" Robert continued. "The Holy Land is lost to him and his. He should flee now, while he has the chance. Stay and all of you will die."

And with those cynical words, Robert pushed Altair around and back through the opening he and his men had entered from. As Altair flew through the entrance/exit, his body smashed into and broke several planks holding up the rock and dirt above them as he continued through his fall. Altair was lost to the remaining three in the chamber as the scaffolding holding up the rock/dirt had broken and thus it had unloaded it's load in front of the entrance, trapping them in with the Templars.

"Men!" Robert barks. "To arms! Kill the Assassins!"

The fight started even before Robert had finished his orders.

* * *

Silver gulped, feeling nervous as she traversed down the hallway. She was feeling rather paranoid that day, though she couldn't figure out why for the life of her. Everywhere she glanced her mind drew the worst case scenario for herself. Not to mention she was still worried over Malik, Kadar, and (dare she say it) even Genesis and worst case scenarios for that group were also found running through her mind.

It didn't help that everywhere she looked she seemed to see an older Assassin following her about. Was this what Shadi had meant a few days ago? Silver didn't know, and it made her even more uneasy - which was the last thing she needed on top of all the other worries clouding her mind.

So lost in thought, Silver didn't notice when someone walked right in front of her out from around a corner causing the woman to smack right into him. Silver back pedaled, arms out to keep her balance before taking to rubbing her now abused face and grimacing at the stinging.

"Sorry..." she meekly stuttered out, blinking up at the person she had run right into. "That was my fault for..."

Silver trailed off, swallowing the lump in her throat at the glare she was receiving. Not to mention she had run right into the man she had seen seemingly following her everywhere.

"Can I help you?" she inquired lowly, growing more and more timid in this situation.

"I believe you can, demon." the man scoffed and before Silver had any time to register what went on in the next few seconds she had slammed into the wall. The man, Ghufran, had reared his fist back and smashed it hard into her head, sending her reeling into the nearest wall where Silver tottered on her feet, dazed and a little confused.

Ghufran took advantage of this, continuing his assault on Silver. The hallway was empty besides the two, every other area he had spotted her in that day there had been witnesses around - potential people to step in and stop him from saving them from this witch's illusions and deceit. If he didn't take this chance now he might miss his only opportunity.

Silver threw up her arms, kicking out her legs feebly in an attempt to drive the man back after several more hits. Blood was trickling out of her mouth, and the taste of it was making her sick to her stomach, which was already clenched in fear. There was no way she was going to be able to fend of Ghufran on her own, she wasn't strong enough.

So, opening her mouth she wailed out one word, "HELP!"

Ghufran shouted something at her that she couldn't make out, too busy attempting to save herself and scramble away. It seemed to her that her shout for help had gone unheeded until another shout broke its way into her hearing.

"Hey! That's Malik's charge!"

"You! Stay out of this! She's a demon deceiving you all!"

"If she were a demon Master Al Mualim would have-"

Silver drifted into unconsciousness at these words.


	18. Chapter 17

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs that appear.

**Chapter Theme: **'Far From Over' by Rev Theory

* * *

People scattered as they witnessed the two bloody Assassins hurrying down the streets. Both were growing dizzy and had to fight to keep from just sinking into unconsciousness from blood loss. Several times either one would nearly topple over into a nearby passerby who would panic as they witnessed all of the blood.

Shouts of "Assassin!", "Don't let them get away!", and "Heretics!" followed after them as they hurried to get out of Jerusalem alive.

Tucked under her arm, Genesis carried the golden treasure Al Mualim had sent them after, her free hand pressing a length of clothe she had swiped from a stand as they ran by to her neck where blood was leaking out at a steady pace. It had been a near-fatal hit; any closer and the vein would've been hit and she surely would've been a goner.

Not that she was in a good position now, either. The wound was still bleeding profusely and she was amazed she wasn't in shock, yet. Maybe the adrenaline pumping through her body had something to do with it?

She glanced over to spot Malik, his face twisted in rage. His own hand was grasping his near ruined arm. If that wasn't treated soon, too, he would be a goner as well.

Anger welled up in her chest as she remembered just what had happened. Altair had rushed head first into things, without thinking of consequences - even Genesis had found this to be stupid in this type of situation. Robert had thrown Altair out of the room, breaking the scaffolding and keeping the higher-ranked Assassin from re-entering the room as rubble closed off the doorway. The fight had soon begun and it had only gotten worse...

Kadar had been the first to be felled, a strangled cry leaving his lips as he fell to the floor in his own blood - the Templar who had slain him sneering down at the body. Malik, eyes wide in horror, had let out a vicious cry, but not before the Templar he had been holding off had taken advantage of the momentary distraction to Malik and attacked, resulting in the man's injured arm.

Genesis obviously hadn't fared any better, having rushed away from her opponent in a bid to help Malik as he had been attacked and breaking her number one rule - don't turn your back to your opponent. The Templar had shouted at her as he attacked, causing Genesis to turn to attempt to block the attack that came - but too late. She had been hit soon after.

It had been a miracle that Malik had been able to grab the treasure and turn tail and run, shouting for Genesis to do the same.

And now, here they were, the exit to Jerusalem drawing closer in sight, the guard's shouting from behind growing louder as well. Her heart was beating rapidly already, to the point she could feel it pounding in her ears as she stumbled again.

"Hurry up!" Malik ordered, turning to spare the woman a glance.

"Coming!" came the gasped response, neither of them willing to argue with one another in such a dire situation.

Neither Assassin had a plan as to get around the guards at the exit as they drew up to them, the guards spinning around, surprised at the shouting and screaming behind them. Their hands instantly went to the hilts of their swords. Throwing caution to the wind both Malik and Genesis ran past, purposely knocking into whichever guard they were closest to, sending the guards toppling to the ground. However, this backfired as they were slowed dramatically, the blood loss taking its toll once again and causing both to nearly fall with them. Gaining their stride once more Malik whistled loudly.

Genesis threw him a curious look before hooves clopping along the dirt sounded out. The horses they had come in on had approached at the whistle, even Kadar's, however Altair's was noticeably missing.

A growl ripped its way out of Genesis' throat at this as both she and Malik swung up onto the horses, each having to steer one-handed (Genesis had to let go of her wound and hope the blood flow wouldn't increase with the horse's movements, in order to keep a grip on the treasure they had swiped from the Templars). Grimaces and pain-filled grunts left the duo as the horses took off, gaining speed and allowing the two to get away from their pursuers.

There was no time to rest if they could help it. They had to make it back to Masyaf and warn them all of what the Templars planned...

* * *

It seemed like ages before Silver roused herself back into consciousness, groaning at the splitting headache and the aching in the rest of her body. It only took a few seconds to remember what had happened, to which she shot up, eyes wide in fear only to stop and hold herself still as pain shot through her at the swift motion.

"Oh, you're awake!"

"Huh?" Silver blinked up at the familiar face of Kareema who smiled kindly down at her, holding out a glass of water. Silver took it gingerly, wincing as pain shot through her again. She must've taken quite a beating... But why?

"What happened?"

"Don't you remember, honey?" Kareema questions, cocking her head to the side curiously.

"I remember someone beating me up and calling me a 'demon'... That's it..." Silver shook her head, staring down at the glass of water in her hand.

"Oh, dear... Yes, that did happen... Luckily Cyd came in to save you just in time!"

"Who's Cyd?" Silver inquires, blinking. She was curious as to who would help her. A knock on the door drew both women's attention to it. Kareema glanced at Silver before moving towards the door and opening it to reveal Shadi, standing there and fiddling with his fingers nervously. He stared at Silver for several seconds before grinning sheepishly.

"Are you okay, miss?"

Silver remained silent for several long seconds before she smiled back. Shadi had attempted to help her before, after all, he couldn't be all bad. And he seemed like a genuinely good kid. "I hope I will be."

"I'm glad, miss."

"Call me Silver."

"O-Okay... Cyd sent me to tell you that Al Mualim wishes to speak with you tomorrow, miss Silver."

"But she should not be moving at all as injured as she is!" Kareema argued, worry etched on the dark-skinned woman's features. Silver glanced down at herself to see that she was indeed covered in bandages. One eye was even bandaged over - it even felt overly swelled. She feared looking into her own reflection now...

"I know, miss Kareema, but that's the Master's orders... I have to speak to him today as well. He's trying to figure out why miss Silver was attacked by Ghufran..."

"'Ghufran'...?" Silver murmurs, mulling the name over. "Is that what you meant by 'those who are close?'"

Shadi grinned, his face lighting up and he nodded. "Yes! But it looks like you figured it out too late... I'm sorry..."

"Why didn't you just come out and say it?" Silver interrogated further, her brow furrowing. Shadi's face flushed pink and he took to fiddling with his fingers again, looking down and away from Silver.

"If Ghufran had found out I was against him he would've attacked me, too..."

"I see..." Silver murmurs, musing over what she should do. She feared facing Al Mualim without anybody with her, after all. He was a very intimidating man. But if it had to be done, she wasn't going to argue against it. She'd just have to drudge up some courage and face him tomorrow...

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, the two had managed to get away from their pursuers far enough and off of the road to not be spotted, however now the issue at hand were the injuries. The horses grazed on the grass off to the side, while Genesis ripped her way one-handed through the saddle bags for anything she could use to treat them both, holding a new clothe to her wound. It had stopped bleeding, but she didn't want to risk it getting reopened and spilling more of her blood.

She had fallen straight off of the horse at one point from dizziness soon after they lost their pursuers and the adrenaline had ebbed away. That adrenaline had been the only thing keeping them both going so strong, now that the danger was past and it had left their bodies they were now both physically and mentally drained and were forced to stop for the night.

Malik sat against a boulder, cradling his wounded arm, the treasure he had grabbed near him while Genesis went about her search almost lethargically. Silence had descended upon the two, neither of them really willing to try and speak to one another.

Finally Genesis found something she could work with, grabbing the linen used for bandages she had stumbled across in Malik's saddle bag. Next she snatched up her water skin, she would have to clean the wound off as best she could and hope infection didn't set in.

Malik watched her move, expecting the woman to take care of her own wound first. Even he would admit that her neck wound was a bit more serious than his arm. However, he blinked in surprise as she instead moved towards him, kneeling beside the boulder and setting the objects in her hand down.

"What are you doing?" Malik grunted.

"Treating your wound. It won't be professional, though..." Genesis answered lightly, as if unconcerned of her own well being as of the moment.

"You should be treating your own wound, woman!"

"That's not my style." came the light answer, as if the two were merely having a discussion about fighting tactics or how one went about a certain task. Instead she moved to remove his dagger and throwing knife harness from around his torso as she ordered him to take off his tunic so that she could get directly at the wounded arm.

Malik did as told, gingerly removing the tunic and the vambrace and hidden blade upon his left arm so that she could remove the longer-sleeved top as well. He was grateful that she moved slowly when it came to removing the mess of a sleeve around his arm so as to make sure none of the fabric was stuck to the wound. Pulling at it if it was would only add to the damage.

Here she stopped, however, her head cocking slightly (before she winced at the pain that shot up her neck at the movement) in confusion.

"What is it?"

"How are you not dead yet, Malik? This wound hasn't stopped bleeding yet!" And true enough, blood was still trickling out of the wound at a slow uneven pace. This worried the woman, this would surely slow down their arrival in Masyaf, after all. "I'm gonna have to tourniquet it!"

"That is a last resort, woman!" Malik scoffed, what little he knew of bandaging certain wounds coming to mind at this.

"Trust me. I'm not about to let you die, idiot!"

In the end, Malik had no choice but to allow the woman to tourniquet his arm above the wound with a thick strip of cloth before she moved about rinsing it off and bandaging the wound up. Here she stopped, giving him a stern look as she pointed at him and demanded;

"Now don't you dare take that off! Only a doctor can now! Got it?"

"That's not the problem now. Your wound must be dealt with." Now it was Malik's turn to order Genesis around, swapping places with her so that he could clean up her wound and dress it for her, albeit with difficulty only having the use of one hand. If she attempted to do it herself it would only end up sloppy, he was sure of it.

Besides, it was the least he could do. She had taken the time to ignore her own wound in favor of dealing with his first... He still had to wonder about that; just why would she do that? Initially Malik had pegged Genesis as selfish, wanting to keep herself alive - but this recent action proved him wrong.

Genesis certainly was a question without an answer.

Her wound was a large one, starting from the collar bone and working its way up, just missing the vein that would've been her own death and stretching up over her chin to her cheek on the right side. It was shallow on either end, however the middle part had been where the weapon had dug in deep and had been what had gushed the most blood.

She was lucky it had stopped bleeding or there would've been no hope for her to live...

All Malik knew was that for certain the two would have a scar to remind them of Altair's unforgivable blunder and of Kadar's death.

Altair rode fast atop his steed. He was sure none of the others had made it out alive after he had been thrown out of the chamber. He had failed his Master, he hadn't gotten the treasure he had been sent to get. He gritted his teeth in irritation and frustration.

No doubt he was going to pay for this, dearly.

He shook those thoughts from his mind. He would worry about those later. He had to focus on getting to Masyaf as quickly as possible for now.


	19. Chapter 18

******Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs that appear.

**Chapter Theme: **'Here We Are' by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

Silver swallowed the lump in her throat nervously, though it stayed, lodged in there against her will. Before her stood none other than Al Mualim, the very person she was struggling to speak to. But he was so intimidating to the woman, and it was only worse now that she was alone in his presence.

She had already finished telling him what she knew of why Ghufran could've possibly wanted to attack her, having pieced together what she could from Shadi, Kareema and Cyd - who she had later met. Now Al Mualim was pacing before his desk, a thoughtful look upon his face as Silver waited nervously.

Silence permeated the air and Silver shifted her weight from foot to foot, fiddling with her hat in her hands as Al Mualim finally turned his gaze back to her.

"You say you have done nothing to provoke this attack on you?" he finally questions, gesturing to her.

Silver nodded. "I'm usually keeping to myself, sir..."

"Ghufran had spoken of strange objects," here Al Mualim turned and picked up one of Silver's previously missing items from the table. She had been eyeing them nervously, wondering how she could possibly explain them away.

He held up the Poke walker she had been missing and she did her best to not look guilty as he eyed her critically. "Would you mind explaining the demon in this contraption?"

"W-Well..." she stopped. Silver had to find a way to lie convincingly. "You see, at Parm..." she stopped to gather her bearing again. "We have an experimental... procedure... to trapping demons... That's what that contraption... is..."

Al Mualim stared and Silver had to fight not to fidget any more than she already was under his prying stare. He knew, he had to have known, she was lying and she was going to be put to death for witchcraft - she just knew it!

"I see..." Al Mualim mused aloud, and Silver blinked in surprise. Did he really believe that weak lie? Heck, Silver believed even Genesis would've been laughing over the pathetic attempt to lying.

In truth, he did not believe it. Not a single word of it. But he did have a working theory - something he had heard only rumors of before from the mouths of the enemy. One that claimed that on occasion a person from the future who had grabbed hold of a Piece of Eden was transported back into the past...

Oftentimes these people were decried for witchcraft, demonic possession or insanity and thus they were brushed under the rug. It made it difficult to find the ones who really were from the future.

Now, naturally this meant that the future and the past were ever changing, nothing constant even if it had already happened...

But this meant that if that was true, and this girl had once come into contact with a Piece of Eden that had transported her back (and he couldn't rule out the possibility of Genesis having done the same) then he had the upper hand already... Surely one of them must know a bit of history...

And besides, Silver had been proving she had at least some skill in information gathering... Perhaps with a little more experience and training she'd make a very good asset as an informant... He'd have to get an informant robe for her, but that would be no big issue, as he had already been musing over this possibility after hearing Cyd and Shadi's stories...

"I have a proposition for you, as strange as it may seem."

Silver blinked, wide-eyed at this. Just what was going on? "Ye-Yes, sir?"

"Due to your abilities shown in this unfortunate event," he paused to eye the bandages over Silver. One eye was even blackened and nearly swollen shut. "I believe you would excel in the art of information gathering."

Silver's mouth dropped slightly as she stared. Al Mualim merely seemed amused at this speechlessness. Finally, Silver managed to find words to this; "A-Are you sure?"

Al Mualim nodded as he stated, "I am. You may receive the informant robe from Cyd on your way out. He will be watching you until Malik and Altair return."

Silver hesitated before turning to leave, something on her mind - something that had yet to be addressed.

"What is it?"

"What will... happen to Ghufran?"

"Do not fret over his fate," Al Mualim answers vaguely. "His fate will be determined later, when Malik, who has been assigned to watch you, has returned."

"I-I see..." And with that Silver gave a quick incline of her head to show respect - wincing at the pain that shot through her at the motion before hurrying away and down the steps. Already she was feeling better, no longer in the man's intimidating presence. She heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders sagging.

She didn't know why but Al Mualim's choice in making her an informant didn't sit right with her... There had to be some bigger picture that she wasn't seeing...

"Silver!" She jerked, grunting in pain again at the sudden movement, and spotting Cyd waving at her from below the last staircase that would lead her outside. He had his hood down around his neck showing his messy and unkempt black hair. In his free arm he held a bundle of white clothe that Silver presumed was the informant robe.

"Oh, Cyd..."

"I believe this is yours," Cyd smiles cheerfully, handing her the robe which she took gingerly, unfolding it and holding it up to inspect. She was still unsure as to whether she wanted to be an Assassin or not. True, she hadn't wanted to be a Templar, either, but still...

A choice would've been nice...

"Thank you."

"Aw, I'm just glad to see you're alright!"

Whatever Silver had to respond to that was broken off as her eyes spotted a familiar person hurrying into the Assassin fortress. True, she couldn't see his face, but his demeanor and the way that he walked gave him away - Altair had returned.

But where were the others?

Altair was soon on the steps and it was here that Silver inquired; "Where are the others?"

A rude grunt was her only answer and Silver huffed in irritation. Such disrespect and she felt she didn't deserve it! Behind her Cyd ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't good... Altair is impatient, but even before he had always arrived with his team..."

Worry flooded Silver's mind at this statement. What had gone wrong?

It hadn't been until another ten or so minutes before Silver's worry increased at the sight of two more of Altair's team storming their way up to see Al Mualim. (Neither she nor Cyd had moved from their spots as Cyd had begun to explain her role as informant to her to try and distract her from her worry.) Behind them trotted a very nervous-looking informant who held a large golden case of sorts in his hands.

Malik and Genesis were near neck and neck, almost as if in a morbid race to see who could reach Al Mualim first, though this wasn't what had caught Silver's eye. It had been the blood staining Malik's left arm and Genesis' neck; and more noticeably, where was Kadar?

"Where's Kadar?" she voiced, brow furrowing as the two drew closer.

"Not now!" Genesis snapped, a hand to her blood-stained neck and one eye closed against the pain. Malik had yet to actually speak, his jaw clenched tight in rage and a hand at his wounded, ruined arm.

Silver flinched away nearer to Cyd who placed a comforting hand over her shoulder. Curiosity and worry was evident on his face as well, though he didn't speak up, knowing better. Whatever had Malik riled up this badly must be important...

And up the steps the two disappeared, with the informant hurrying after, delicately holding onto the treasure Malik had shoved into his arms as they entered Masyaf with orders to follow after. He didn't know what was going on, either, but he, too, knew better than to inquire about it at the moment.

However, Silver wasn't so accepting of this. She had to know what was going on...

"And what of the others?" Al Mualim's words drifted to their ears as Genesis and Malik hurried to them, where Altair was seen already speaking to him of their mission.

"Dead."

"No, not dead!" Malik cries out loudly, drawing both men's eyes to them as the two stalked to a stop glaring at Altair who stared back evenly after the initial shock died away.

"Malik... Genesis..." Al Mualim blinks, turning to appraise the two - taking in the heavy wounds.

"At least two of us aren't." Genesis snaps.

"Because of you!" the two wounded Assassins cry out as one, Malik even releasing his useless arm to point angrily at Altair who remained impassive.

"Robert threw me through the room!" came his argument, his justification. "There was nothing I could do!"

"Because you would not heed my warning! All of this could've been avoided!"

As Malik had spoken these words Genesis had taken it upon herself to stalk up to Altair, a fist clenched at her side. When she was in front of him she began gesturing at him angrily as she threw her own two cents into the mix;

"It is because you are a self-centered, bratty, arrogant idiot who believes himself to be God's gift to man! And you are not!"

Altair batted her hand away as he glared back;

"Mind your tongue!"

"If it were not for you my brother would still be alive! Your arrogance, nearly caused us victory..."

"Nearly?" Al Mualim's voice held a curiosity and surprise within it, not having expected this. It was here that the informant made his presence known, walking in behind Malik to take a place beside Al Mualim as Malik explained;

"We brought what your favorite failed to find. Here... Take it."

Altair had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping open at the sight of the treasure in the informant's hands and he had even stepped around Genesis to get a better view of it. A smugness seemed to radiate from both Malik and Genesis at the task they had managed to complete that he could not.

Altair's fists clenched because of it.

"I should warn you, we do have a bit of an issue..." Genesis sobered, the smirk on her lips at the look on Altair's face fading as she turned to Al Mualim. He quirked a brow at her, an expectant look on his face - no doubt he wanted an explanation.

Another voice from the other side of the room drew Al Mualim's attention (as well as the rest of the group) as this new Assassin gave the warning;

"Master! Robert de Sable has laid siege to Masyaf village!"

"So, he seeks a battle!" Al Mualim scoffs, pacing to the other side of the room before the newcomer. Determination was apparent in his stance - he would not surrender. "Very well. I will not deny him. Go! Inform the others!"

With a quick nod the man was off, his mission in mind to help protect their community.

"As for you, Altair," Altair glanced up to Al Mualim, noting the disapproving look upon the old man's face. This surely would not bode well for him. "Our discussion will have to wait! You must make for the village, destroy these invaders! Drive them from our home!"

"It will be done." And with those words Altair rushed off, ready to fight off the enemy without mercy.

Al Mualim turned back to survey the two wounded ones within his presence as silence rang around the room, the occupants waiting for his decision. It was clear the two would be unable to fight and help protect Masyaf no matter how badly either wanted to. He gestured to the informant;

"Go and fetch our doctors. These two will be treated immediately."

"Yes, master." With a low bow the informant quickly and gently placed the Piece of Eden atop Al Mualim's table before rushing off to go find said doctors within Masyaf. There weren't many, though they had been recruited by the Assassins for instances just like these.

At the first set of steps leading up to Al Mualim's usual haunt Silver stood, staring up in horror at what she had heard. Already Altair had brushed past her, not sparing her a glance (and honestly, probably not caring that she had heard the conversation at all). Her hands her shaking and her eyes were wide at the truth she had heard...

She swallowed the lump in her throat as her feet began to take her out of the building and to the fortress walls, where she, Kadar and Genesis had had a good time before this mission had been put on their shoulders. Silver choked back a sob as she ran, a hand to her hat to keep it atop her head and her informant robe bundled in her other hand tightly.

She hadn't thought of people she cared about dying, hadn't needed to until now. Before this mess had started she only had to cooperate to prevent that from happening...

Here she couldn't do that... Here anyone was fair game to die no matter how she behaved...

Now Kadar was dead, despite her behaving as she always did and Malik and Genesis were seriously injured.

What was going to happen now? Silver was afraid to know...


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** My co-writer and I own nothing but the Ocs that appear.

**Chapter Theme:** 'Kings and Queens' by 30 Seconds to Mars

* * *

Silver's hands clenched, shaking too wildly and uncontrollably for her to be able to control. Her chest was heaving quickly as her breath seemed to be stuck within her throat despite her best efforts to breath. Silver wasn't even sure how she had come to be up here. The last thing she remembered was being ushered out of the room Malik and Genesis had been taken to for what passed as medical treatment in this day and age as Malik's arm had been 'un-save-able' according to what passed as a doctor. That had been after her breakdown upon the fortress' walls, of course...

Before she knew it she had been approached by a couple of higher ranking Assassins telling her that she had a part to play in Al Mualim's plans along with a few other Assassins and ushered her out of the building and up onto the plank that she stood at now. While she had been in the room (before being shooed away) she had only known that a fight was waging outside between Assassins and Templars while the civilians were ushered into the safety of the gates and away from the bloodshed.

Now it seemed they were at a lull in the fighting with Assassins inside the fortress of Masyaf itself, locked safely inside and away from the Templars.

Below her was a large outcropping of cliff face with large stacks of hay far below her. If Silver bothered to look towards her right she would see Altair stepping out onto the remaining plank at his own leisure and below them - in a spot where they would not be able to see the hay piles - the remaining group of Templars that had not been slain stood, headed by who she assumed to be their leader, a bald-headed man astride his large, muscular steed.

"Heretic!" cried out the bald-headed Robert below, glaring at the form of Al Mualim above him. "Return what you have stolen from me!"

"You've no claim to it, Robert!" Al Mualim's loud, gruff voice answered back near instantly. "Take yourself from here before I am forced to thin your ranks further!"

Honestly, Silver wasn't sure how he could back that claim up. The ranks of the Templars below, when she had spared a quick glance (only to grow even more frightened at realizing how high up she was) seemed much larger than the Assassins in Masyaf as of the moment. Oh, she hoped she lived through this somehow... It wouldn't do to survive Ghufran's beating only to die to prove some old man's point!

"You play a dangerous game!"

"I assure you; this is no game!"

"So be it!" Robert scoffs, gesturing behind him to one of his men, though his gaze never left Al Mualim's. "Bring forth the hostage!"

Silver's breath caught in her throat in horror as a lower-ranking Assassin was tugged forward by one of the Templars. The Assassin's arms were twisted and tied behind him, the man unable to defend himself from what was to come as the Templar drew his blade and shoved it through the back of his chest and out the front mercilessly. The slain main grunted as his dying breaths left his lungs, pain blossoming in his chest before he was tossed uselessly to the ground, the sword sliding out of his torso easily.

Silver's stomach merely flopped in disgust and fear at this display of ruthlessness.

"Your village lays in ruins! And your stores are hardly endless!" Robert announces confidently. "How long before your fortress crumbles from within? How disciplined will your men remain when your wells run dry and your food is gone?"

"My men nor our women fear death, Robert."

Was it just Silver or did she hear shuffling and confused murmurs behind her from the two Assassins behind them to make sure all went according to plan? Altair, too, cocked his head slightly as if to reassure himself that he wasn't hearing things though he was too focused on Al Mualim's words than to pay full attention to mindless noises.

"They welcome it and the rewards it brings!"

Silver's throat closed as her mind finally flashed to what was planned. She was going to have to jump into those haystacks below! Oh, no, not on her life she wasn't! The Assassins might not be afraid to do such a thing; heck, she could even see Genesis enjoying such a feat, but she was not going to jump! Not ever!

Besides, what rewards could death bring? No one knew what was after death, exactly! Man could only speculate.

"Good! Then they shall have it all around!" Robert roughly retaliated, eyes narrowing in distaste at the man's stubbornness to fork over the Piece of Eden to him.

"Follow me," whispered an Assassin clothed in gray robes from Silver's left. She glanced over, her pale face must have showed how deathly frightened she was as the man spared a gentle, reassuring smile at her as he continued, "and do so without hesitation."

Silver couldn't even bring herself to nod yes or no at this.

"Show this fool knight what it is to have no fear!" Al Mualim boasted, gesturing to the Templars and turning to observe the people standing on the planks from his only working eye. "Go to God!"

The three Assassins tensed, crouching slightly to prepare their jump though Silver's heart thundered even louder in her ears. If she didn't jump the plan, whatever it was, would be ruined! She knew it, but she was too deathly afraid to jump and -

Her train of thought was broken almost instantly (really her thoughts had only gotten as far as a second or so in as the assassins around her readied their jump as one) before Genesis' voice called out; "You go to God!"

Silver had no time to turn around and blink wildly at the injured woman as Genesis grasped onto the back of her robes, tugging her back and off of the plank as the injured woman took her spot instead. Silver thudded back into one of the two Assassins who had been groping for Genesis to stop her though it was already too late.

With a cheer she had jumped off of the plank simultaneously with Altair and the other two Assassins, relishing in the wind beating onto her body as she rocketed down into the haystack. However she didn't last long, the adrenaline exhausting her on top of her already weary body and mental state from the events she had suffered from before hand. Once she landed the jarring of her wound was enough to send her straight into unconsciousness, laying in the hay as the novice Assassin that had jumped with them howled in pain from his broken leg, having missed his stack of hay entirely.

It was amazing he hadn't been more injured as it was. The older Assassin shushed him, rushing to his side to tend to his injury as best as he could until the situation was over with. Altair easily stepped from his stack of hay, strands of the dry, scratchy plants falling away from his clothes as he moved, ready to glare at Genesis...

Only to not see her emerge just yet... There was no doubt in his mind it had been her, had even spared a quick glance to be sure. However, reprimanding her for acting so childish in such a situation and even butting in when she shouldn't have been there in the first place would have to wait as the old, bearded man turned to him;

"You must go and finish the plan. Follow the rope and send the Templars running!"

Altair spared a quick nod, jaw set as he quickly glanced around for the rope. He quickly spotted it, pinned to the side of the cliff and running across. He would have to balance precariously on a beam to reach his destination, looked like he'd have to do this three times, though this did not deter the man at all.

The man did enjoy a challenge in his job, after all.

So without so much as a bat of an eye he was off, slowly making his way over the beam as the voices of Robert and his master reached his ears faintly, apparently the two were still arguing with one another. No matter, Altair would solve that soon enough. What seemed like hours later to the man and he was before the building, eyeing it carefully, memorizing the nooks and crannies he would use to hoist himself up easily and quickly.

Time was of the essence.

So without missing a beat he was up following a set pattern to climbing. Reach, test the weight, hoist himself up with a steady foot hold, reach... It was a habit formed over the many years of training and on field work, one that was done within mere minutes if no one was trying to attack him and force him back down or to hurry his paces and endanger himself to falling.

However there was none of that as he reached the top silently, eyes roving around as he formulated the rest of the unspoken plan. Large logs were stacked inside below him, he could see them from beneath the wood grate beneath his feet, blocked from falling down on the Templars and rolling down the pathway to the village itself by a tied off gate of sorts.

Altair moved with a purpose to the place the gate was tied off with a bit of rope, unsheathing his sword as he moved before slashing down at it, snapping the pieces in two in one go. The gate fell open with a loud clatter, allowing the logs to begin rolling loudly out of their container and down upon the Templars who all jumped and turned to look before scattering.

Many were not lucky enough to get away, crushed beneath the logs or trampled by one another as they retreated with Robert's orders to "Fall back!" Altair smirked in satisfaction as they ran back down the slope, some still tripping over one another or over their own feet, with Robert safe upon his steed.

Altair awaited the day he would be able to see Robert off from this world entirely, however that would have to wait. He didn't have to wait long before he could climb his way down from above, none of the Templars had wanted to stay after that nasty log surprise and any that were laying about on the ground were either dead, dying or unconscious.

In the fortress the gate had been reeled up after a few minutes wait, several higher ranked Assassins rushing out and down the slope to be sure that it was safe for the civilians to be released without fear of being attacked by any stray Templars.

In but half an hour all was safe and sound, the logs rolled away and the dead taken away to be prepped for burial at a later time while the injured were being treated to. The Assassins that had come out unscathed now stood before the fortress they lived within, however, where Al Mualim stood at the entrance glaring at Altair angrily.

On either side of Altair stood two other Assassins, awaiting orders it seemed as Al Mualim moved to speak.

"You did well to drive Robert from here," he began lowly, though there was no ounce of pride or joy in his voice. "His force is broken. It shall be a long while before he troubles us again. Tell me... Do you know why it is you were successful?"

Silence reigned, Altair unable to answer. He didn't know what the master wanted to hear, what was the right answer? Was there even a right one?

"It is because you _listened_!" Al Mualim supplied. Altair had to keep from scoffing at this answer. "Were it that you'd listened in Solomon's Temple, Altair. All of this would have been avoided."

And there it was, that disappointed tone that caused anger to build in Altair's chest. "I did as I was asked!"

"No! You did as you pleased! Malik and Genesis have told me of the arrogance you displayed!" Altair wondered when this had happened. Possibly as Altair had been out fending off the Templars, though he didn't even know if this was true or not. "Disregard for our ways!"

Altair's anger doubled as confusion bubbled within him as the two Assassins on either side rushed him, grabbing his arms and pinning them behind his back roughly with a mere nod from Al Mualim. "What are you doing?"

"There are rules..." the old man began, starting to pace as he spared a glance at the struggling Altair who glared back. "We are nothing if we do not abide by the Assassin's creed! Three simple tenants! Which you seem to forget!" Here Al Mualim stopped in front of Altair, roughly pulling his down turned face up to make sure the man was listening to his words.

"I will remind you... First and foremost; stay your blade-"

"From the flesh of an innocent. I know."

Altair received a slap from his master for that, the sound echoing around the silent crowd. They waited with bated breath, wondering what their master would do to his favorite and highest ranking. "And stay your tongue! Unless I give you leave to use it! If you are so familiar with this tenant then why did you kill the old man inside the temple? He was innocent! He did not need to die!"

Altair refused to answer this, anger and resentment still welled up within his chest. Silence before Al Mualim spat; "Your insolence knows no bounds... Make humble your heart, child, or I swear I'll tear it from you with my own hands..."

Another pause as Altair nodded, showing his understanding albeit resentfully. Al Mualim continued on, explaining the second and third tenants and how Altair had broken each one of them merely within Solomon's Temple. Altair did not much like his failures being flaunted out for the others to hear about, his resent only growing with each word though he could do nothing about it.

Al Mualim paused, tugging out a golden bladed dagger from his belts as he eyed Altair almost sorrowfully. "I'm sorry... I truly am..."

Altair's heart sped up dramatically as his eyes darted to the blade. There was no way his master was going to just kill him for a few blunders! He wouldn't believe it!

"But I cannot abide a traitor..."

"I am not a traitor!" Altair argued, tugging at the Assassins who still held him at bay though it did him no good as Al Mualim viewed him thoughtfully.

"Your actions indicate otherwise..." Al Mualim slowly stepped closer only a few paces away from Altair know, dagger still in hand. "And so you leave me no choice..." A pause as the two glanced at one another, Altair's face set into defiance.

"Peace be upon you, Altair..." Without waiting for a reply from Altair the old ducked and lunged, stabbing the poison-coated blade into Altair's stomach, Altair's leather harness about his waist blunting the blade enough so as not to make the attack lethal, though it would certainly feel like such to Altair as the non lethal poison took effect.

Altair's vision grew fuzzy and dark as he sagged in the Assassins' hold, his mind wavering between consciousness and unconsciousness for several long seconds before finally giving out in to blackness.

"Take him to receive treatment for his wound," Al Mualim ordered when he was sure the man was unconscious. "And let us hope he has learned his lesson..."


End file.
